Second Chances
by legalliz
Summary: Nearly 30 years into the future we catch a brief glimpse into the life of Stephanie Plum. Whatever became of the Bombshell Bounty Hunter? This story will have several chapters connecting the present to the past while exploring what happened in between. Rated T for potential future content choices.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: All of the characters, personalities, and backgrounds belong to the delightful Janet Evanovich._

Second Chances

I pulled in front of the apartment building and honked my horn. A dark-skinned woman with bleach blonde hair twice my size wearing clothing two sizes smaller waved her hand frantically from the doorway.

"I'll be down in a minute!" she hollered. "Can't find my knockoff Prada bag. It's the only one that matches this outfit." I laughed.

Lula was wearing a neon pink top and a fuzzy animal print jacket. She'd been going a bit more conservative on the skirts lately, and I was surprised to see it hanging a little below her knees. Still wearing heels though. I'd given up on the things ages ago…except on the occasional date night.

A few minutes later, she made her way out to the car and plopped herself into the seat next to me in a huff.

"No Prada," she grouched. "Tore the whole place apart looking for it too. A girl's gotta accessorize, you know?" I nodded in agreement, but honestly I never really mastered the whole accessorizing bit.

My idea of accessorizing was making sure I had my ID and a credit card crammed into one of my pockets. It was a lucky day if my reading glasses happened to be on my head when I left the house.

"I think I might need some donuts and coffee this morning," Lula said. "Gotta get my strength up before dealing with _those_ people again." I nodded in agreement.

"You read my mind." We grabbed a dozen Boston crèmes from the Tasty Pastry down the street and pulled into a nearby parking lot to eat them.

"So what's new with you?" Lula asked between bites. I took a sip of coffee.

"Not much. I watch my sister's grandkids from time to time just for kicks. And I'm still working on the blog. How about you?"

"I pick up things from the temp agency now and then, but you'd be amazed at all the people who don't understand fashion when they see it. Two places even asked me to leave before I even started their filing. Rude, right?" I smiled.

"Missing the old days sometimes?"

"You bet your cute butt," she nodded. "I never realized how good we had it back then." I guess I didn't really either. Some days I still like to reminisce.

My name is Stephanie Morelli, and a lifetime ago I used to work for my cousin Vinnie at his bail bonds office as a bond enforcement agent. Lula, a former hooker _way_ back in the day, used to be my sometimes sidekick and picked up my slack in the gun and attitude departments. We'd attempt to bring in the delinquents who skipped out on their court dates, and most of the time we were successful. The pay was sporadic at best, but the uniforms and hours were good, so I probably stayed employed there way longer than I should have. The future always intimidated me, so I tended to stay where I felt comfortable. Even if it meant getting shot at occasionally or having my life threatened every other month.

It took nearly losing everything and everyone important to me before I was finally able to call it quits. I had some serious decisions to make, but without the job to hide behind anymore, I finally felt ready to make them. Some days I wondered what life would be like now if I'd gone a different direction, but really I wouldn't give up what I had for anything. Life was what it was, and I had plenty to be thankful for.

We pulled into the mall parking lot, and Lula opened my center console.

"Got any pepper spray or stun guns lying around here from the olden days?" I shook my head.

"Haven't touched that stuff in years."

"Too bad," she frowned. "With a crowd like that, we're probably gonna need it." I readjusted my shirt and took a moment to look myself over in the rearview mirror.

"Gosh," I frowned. "When did we get so _old_? These wrinkles around my eyes look like an interstate road map." Lula laughed.

"Honey, we ain't old. We're _vintage_." It really didn't matter what you called it. It still sucked having the wrinkles, deteriorating eyesight, and the aching joints. At least I was in good company.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Honey, I was _born_ ready," Lula smiled back. We gathered our things and went over the game plan again. Lula would go straight to the basement and I'd head for the shoes. We went and took our places outside next to all the other crazies.

"Are we getting to old for this?" Lula whispered over at me.

"Never," I whispered back. And that's when the doors opened for Macy's Big Sale Event.

After two hours of dodging aggressive clothes hoarders, Lula and I finally decided to call it quits. As usual, Lula found way more clothing and accessories than I had. She walked out with four bags, and I only had the one.

"I think you're losing your edge there, Steph," she frowned pulling a new tiger-striped scarf around her neck.

"I guess I just wasn't feeling it today," I shrugged. "Marco's coming over later for dinner, so my mind's kind of been elsewhere."

"How is Marco?" Lula asked.

"He's good. Just finished the Academy. I think it was a little rough there with the graduation. It would've been nice if Joe could've been there."

"Aw, Sweetie, I'm sorry. You want Auntie Lula to pay a visit later to cheer you both up?" I shook my head.

"Not necessary, but thanks for the offer. I think it'll just be the two of us tonight. He's been busy lately, so we've got some catching up to do."

"You cooking?" Lula asked with a grin.

"If you mean calling in an order from Pino's, then yeah, I'm cooking." We both laughed. Cooking had never been one of my strong suits. We pulled into the lot in front of Lula's apartment, and she got out.

"Thanks for the ride, Sweetie," she said. "Felt like the olden days there for a bit." She turned to head in, but stopped halfway to the stairs and slapped her palm to her forehead running full speed back to the car.

"You forget something?" I asked as she ripped open the passenger door.

"I hope not," she said glancing around. "It must be that old-timer's disease kicking in. Somehow I forgot some _big_ news I was going to tell you."

"How big are we talking here?" I asked. "New-selection-of-meats-at-Sal's big or Joyce-Barnhardt's-botched-plastic-surgery big?"

"Well to you, I'd say bigger than both of those." She got a big mischievous smile on her face. "You'll never guess who I heard was back in town."


	2. Chapter 2

30 Years Ago

It was another spring in Trenton, and the gray hues of winter were finally starting to disappear under subtle hints of greenery and a new layer of Jersey smog. I was looking in the mirror debating the best strategy for my unruly hair when I heard a knock at the door. I was debating about ignoring it, but I had woken up in a pretty good mood (due in part to a very exciting good morning kiss-and other good morning activities-from Morelli), so I decided to answer it. A USPS worker stood in the doorway with a package.

"Does a Stephanie Plum live here?" he asked. The question threw me for a moment, but I still managed a nod and signed for the package.

"Thanks," I said as I shut the door.

I set the package on the counter and pondered the question. Did I live here? I had an apartment that wasn't too far away, but lately I had been staying with Morelli and his lovable dog, Bob. In fact, I couldn't remember how long it had been since I had last slept in my own bed.

I walked back to the bedroom and looked in the closet. Sure enough, most of my wardrobe and laundry were on the hangers and in the drawers. I went in the bathroom. There was makeup scattered on the counter, my toothbrush was in the holder, and my razor was in the shower. And it wasn't a disposable. Feminine products were in a drawer.

I walked back out to the living room where I had left my morning coffee. Rex, my pet hamster and confidant, was running on his wheel. I leaned over his cage with a cracker. "When did this happen?" I asked him. He stopped running to eye the cracker then continued with his morning exercise routine.

Things had been going unusually well between me and Morelli lately. According to our usual chain of events, we should have hit a snag by now, had an explosive yelling session, and returned to our own separate residences…at least for a few weeks. The last thing I remembered yelling about was who ate the last of the ice cream, and the argument didn't last all that long because we managed to figure out another form of dessert we both wanted.

It was kind of a nice change of events for us. But it was also very weird. "Don't do this," I said to myself slamming my palm into my forehead. "Anytime things are going well, you go and freak out and ruin everything. This is totally normal. Commitment doesn't have to be a scary thing. Maybe this is a sign that you're finally growing up and maturing."

Maturity had been a difficult thing for me to master. But maybe it really was time to bring up the "M" word again. Maybe we could really make this whole thing work and be happy. I could feel a smile start to emerge at the thought.

My phone buzzed and I glanced at the caller. Oh yeah. Here was part of my commitment problem: the other man in my life.

"What's up?" I answered.

"Babe," came the familiar response. It was Ranger. Ricardo Carlos Manoso, also known to many as Ranger, has known me in a professional capacity for several years now. As a former bounty hunter himself, he's shown me some tricks of the trade and has developed an almost mother-like need to keep me under constant surveillance and protection. Although annoying at times, his overprotective nature has saved me from a premature trip to the pearly gates on numerous occasions, so I let him continue with his slightly invasive surveillance practices.

All of this would amount to peanuts if it wasn't for the crazy attraction between us and the few times we've spent the night together. It hasn't happened in a really long time, and I'd like to keep it that way, which sounds easy enough except for the fact that Ranger is tall, dark, and way beyond handsome. And he's quiet and mysterious, which only adds to his extreme amount of sex appeal. He's not really interested in relationships, marriage, or any of that long-term mumbo jumbo, so I've tried my best not to get too attached.

Occasionally I think he forgets his anti-marriage campaign because he's said some things about me, about us, and they don't always sound short-term to me. It keeps our relationship on every possible level of ambiguous, so I claim we're friends, occasional coworkers, and lie through my teeth about not wanting to sleep with him again.

"Is there a particular reason for this call?" I asked. "It's been a while." There was some silence.

"I've been busy," he replied. "Just wanted to know if you got a package today." I looked over at the counter.

"Yeah, actually," I said. "Just showed up a little while ago. Why?" He seemed like he was searching for the right words to say.

"Do me a favor and don't open it," he said.

"You sent me flowers, didn't you?" I asked teasingly as I made my way over to the package.

"Stephanie, don't!" I heard as I cut the corners and lifted the lid.

"What the…oh my gosh!" My jaw dropped in disgusted horror and I passed out on the floor.

I'm not sure how long I was out, but I woke up with a bag of frozen vegetables pressed against my head. Tank, whose name covers most of what you need to know about him, was hovering over me with a worried expression. Normally giant, muscular men standing over me was major cause for concern, but I knew Tank belonged to Rangeman, the security firm that Ranger co-owned and ran, so I was in good hands.

"Must've been in the neighborhood?" I asked rubbing my head.

"Ranger was worried when the call dropped," Tank said. "I was closest, so here I am."

"Morelli's going to be pissed if you broke down his door," I frowned. Tank laughed.

"No need. I think you left it unlocked when you got the package." I couldn't remember if I'd locked it again after getting the delivery. Probably not. Regardless, I was now worried some psycho could have been in the house. Tank was watching me with a worried expression. "Ranger will be by in a few to check things out." I sighed.

"Perfect."

My head wasn't throbbing anymore by the time Ranger showed up. He slipped in quietly and was suddenly leaning up against the counter in the kitchen dressed in his usual all-black attire.

"What's with the vegetables?" he asked tugging at the bag I still had held to my head.

"Tank was playing mom. I hit my head on the counter when I passed out. Thought they might be fun to heat up for lunch," I said with a smirk.

"No you didn't," Ranger said flatly. Normally I could at least get a hint of a smile with a joke like that, but apparently Ranger wasn't in the mood for joking. He nodded to Tank who made his departure, and the two of us stood silently in the kitchen for a moment.

"Where's the dog?" he finally asked.

"Morelli's got Bob out with him today. What's with the twenty questions?" He turned his head to look at the package still sitting on the kitchen counter.

"Things like this don't usually sit well with me, especially when you're involved."

"You got one too," I frowned finally putting the pieces together. He nodded. The subtle smell from the deteriorating animal organs was making my stomach churn. "That's beyond disgusting," I cringed. "Any ideas who might be behind it?" He shook his head.

"I'm going to have a forensics guy take a look. Maybe he'll find something useful." He looked doubtful. "In the meantime, be careful. I brought over the watch with the panic button as an extra precaution. And do me a favor and don't talk about it with your boyfriend yet. I don't need him breathing down my neck about your safety." I felt some extra tension with the boyfriend comment.

"He's probably going to want to know how I got this lovely goose egg," I said pointing to my forehead. "You want me to lie about it?" Ranger shook his head.

"Do what you want, Steph," he said. "You always do."

"Well _you_ make everything complicated," I said getting defensive. Ranger was being unusually short with me, and I wanted to know why. Poking the angry bear wasn't the safest idea, but sometimes it got a reaction, and occasionally that was more satisfying than getting answers.

" _I_ make things complicated?" he asked whipping around. "I wasn't the one who opened the damn box. You make _everything_ complicated. You…" he stopped and stared at the floor. He glanced up, grabbed my arm, and pushed me up against the wall. Our eyes locked and he kissed me. I wanted to be mad, but my huffy disposition melted when his lips pressed against mine. Eventually, he pulled away, and his eyes went back to the floor. The sudden outburst and averted gaze were very un-Ranger.

"I need to go," he finally said grabbing the package and heading out the door. "I'll be in touch." And without even a backward glance, he was gone.

I was still leaning against the wall several minutes later when I finally snapped back to reality. The morning had already been a complete disaster! First there was the near panic attack from the realization that I'd officially moved in with Morelli followed by the revolting gift from my new "friend," and then there was Ranger who was cryptic as usual but also annoyed and grumpy. For someone who didn't show much emotion, this was an odd turn of events.

And what was with that kiss? We hadn't even texted for over a month much less talked, and he had the audacity to kiss me like that? There was too much weird going on for me, so I decided to skip plans for the day and go take a nap. It was the one thing I knew that could always clear my mind.

I must have napped longer than I planned because I woke up when I heard the front door shut. At first I panicked wondering if I'd left the door unlocked again, but then I heard the familiar clank of keys on the counter and a voice call up the stairs.

"Cupcake, I'm home," Morelli hollered.

I rubbed my eyes and smoothed out the wrinkles in my shirt. Footsteps clunked up the stairs, and the next thing I knew, Morelli was standing in the doorway. "What are you doing up here?" he asked. "Rough day on the job?"

I rubbed my forehead remembering the knot I'd acquired earlier. "Something like that," I replied trying to avoid a flat-out lie. He came and sat next to me on the bed.

"Want to talk about it?" I shook my head and fell back into the crumpled comforter. My thoughts were still fuzzy from the nap. Unfortunately, it hadn't been successful in helping me resolve any of my problems.

"How was your day?" I asked in an effort to take the focus off me.

"Not bad," he replied. "Tied up a few loose ends on the case I've been knee-deep in for the last month. Paperwork should be a bit lighter for a while. At least until the next crazy does something stupid in this town." We both smirked. You could throw a rock in Trenton and hit any number of weirdos who probably had a chip on their shoulder and a gun in their pocket. They always kept the Trenton PD up to their ears in excitement.

"If you want, I can start dinner," he said. "Or if you're feeling impatient, I can order something in. Anything sound good?" It was a good thing Morelli could hold his own in the kitchen. The last time I tried to make dinner, I nearly burned the house down.

I was still contemplating food options when Morelli started nuzzling my neck. His hand slid under my shirt and his lips brushed my ear sending shivers to the very tips of my fingers and toes, not to mention other fun places.

"Or we could just skip straight to dessert," he whispered. I turned to look at him. His eyes were liquid pools of chocolate growing darker by the minute, and as usual they were totally hypnotizing me to the point of doing whatever he wanted. They were the very same eyes that sweet talked me out of my underpants behind the counter of the Tasty Pastry back in high school. It was a good thing I no longer held a grudge about that.

An hour later, we were finally eating dinner, and I furiously devoured three slices of pizza. The day had been exhausting. Morelli was watching me in amazement.

"Are you feeling ok?" he asked putting his hand on my forehead. "You only eat like that when something's bothering you."

I sighed. "I missed lunch today." He raised an eyebrow. "Honest," I protested with my hands raised. "Well, that and…" I stopped.

"And what?"

"It's been over two months." His eyes grew big.

"You're _pregnant_?" he sputtered. I nearly choked on a bite of pizza.

"What? No! It's been over two months since I've slept back at my apartment. I think I've officially moved in here." Morelli smiled.

"And that's a _bad_ thing?" he laughed.

I shrugged. "I guess not. It's just a little weird. I hadn't really noticed until today."

"I have to admit, the lack of fighting between us is a little uncharacteristic, but I'm ok with it if you are. In fact, we should probably take advantage of the situation and just get married already. What do you think?" I got a sudden wave of indigestion and a hint of nausea. Not a very good sign. But then again, it could have been the pizza.

"I'll think about it if you will," I said. And there it was; one of my problems was solved…sort of. One down, two to go.


	3. Chapter 3

I kept tossing and turning after going to bed that night. I might have been in a good place with Morelli, but the package still had me spooked. Considering my history with assassins, deranged psychopaths, and the occasional irate skip, it wasn't something easily done. I was like a cat that always seemed to land on its feet, but something felt off with the recent delivery, and I still couldn't put my finger on what had me so unsettled.

Maybe it was the fact that Ranger seemed worried too. He always kept a level head about things even faced with no-win situations, so to see him get upset about something made it definitely worth worrying about. Then again I couldn't tell if the packages were the only reasons for the sudden outburst of emotion. Communication wasn't exactly Ranger's strong suit.

By 3:00 AM I finally decided to give up on sleep and headed down to the living room to watch some late-night TV. I flipped through the channels absentmindedly, deciding the "magic" cooking gadgets looked like they might be worth a try. Of course, work had been slow lately, so I didn't exactly have money to spend. Story of my life.

My eyes started to burn from lack of sleep, so I pulled on a blanket and rested my head on a couch pillow. Eventually I drifted off, but my dreams echoed the fears from my subconscious. I dreamt I was in a strait jacket, and a man clothed all in black stood in front of me. At first I thought it could've been Ranger, but the face was hidden under a ski mask, and I noticed the eyes were bloodshot and crystal blue. A sinister smile spread across his face, and his eyes darkened. He leaned his face next to mine, close enough to where I could feel his breath on my cheek. "Let the games begin," he sneered. My eyes bolted open and I let out a terrified scream.

I heard Morelli stumbling down the stairs and crash with a thud at the bottom. He must have missed a step. He ran over to the couch panicked and cursing.

"Are you ok?" he asked flipping on some lights. I could feel my whole body trembling, and my shirt was soaked in sweat. "Why are you out on the couch?" he asked.

"C-c-couldn't sleep," I stuttered. Adrenaline rushes sucked. "I think it was just a nightmare," I added once my heartbeat started to return to something relatively normal.

"Must have been one hell of a nightmare," he said taking a seat next to me on the couch. "Your clothes are soaked." He was eyeing my chest, and I rolled my eyes at him.

"This isn't the time to be thinking about that," I said pulling the blanket up to my neck.

"Cupcake, guys are _always_ thinking about that." I gave him another eye roll, and he leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"I'll go make some coffee," he said. I looked at him feeling confused.

"Isn't it still the middle of the night?" He laughed.

"I wish. My alarm's set to go off in twenty minutes. I guess I won't have to rush my shower this morning. Care to join me?" He had a sly smile. I shook my head.

"Thanks for the offer, but I didn't sleep much last night. I'm so tired right now that I'd probably pass out in the shower."

He shrugged. "Your loss."

I leaned back against the pillow again and listened as Morelli went to the kitchen and started the coffee. Then I heard him shuffle up the stairs and start the shower in the bathroom. Feeling antsy and unsettled, I got up and went to the kitchen impatiently waiting for the percolator to hiss at the end of its brew cycle. I really needed the clarity that only caffeine could bring.

I looked over at the counter where my package had sat yesterday morning. The contents still made my stomach churn. And now there was the dream. It had all felt so real; the bloodshot eyes, the raspy voice, even the breath on my cheek. I got a queasy feeling in my stomach and walked over to the front door. It was unlocked.

I quickly ran back to the kitchen and pulled Morelli's Glock from the drawer. With shaky hands, I found my phone and dialed Ranger's number.

"Yo," he said without even a hint of grogginess. His days always started early.

"We need to talk," I said trying to keep the adrenaline stutters from returning.

"Agreed. Rangeman at 11?" he asked.

" _If I survive until then_ ," I thought. "I'll be there."

I didn't want to spend much time by myself in Morelli's house, so after he left, I ran over to the bonds office to set up a tentative plan for the day with Lula. Connie, the office receptionist and probably the only person in the world with enough Jersey attitude to put up with my cousin Vinnie, was sitting at the front desk filing her nails. She kind of reminded me of Betty Boop…in a Jersey kind of way.

"Got any new skips for me today?" I asked walking in the door. She shook her head.

"Things have been slow around here. Vinnie's getting antsy about money again." He wasn't the only one. But then again, I was always antsy about money.

"Don't you still have one out there?" she asked. I sighed.

"Yeah, I probably should've picked up Bruno yesterday, but I decided to take the day off. Some things kinda came up." She raised an interested eyebrow.

"You hanging out with Ranger again?" she asked suspiciously. Connie and Lula were always trying to keep tabs on my man drama.

"If only it were that simple."

Just then Lula's firebird came to a screeching halt outside. Her hair was red today to match the red tube top she had plastered to her skin and most of her voluptuous chest. Lula was a former hooker who somehow managed to wind up as a filing clerk at the bonds office, but as there wasn't much filing to do since the files had all gone digital, she spent most of her time as my part-time sidekick bringing in the delinquents who skipped out on their court dates. It was mostly helpful to have someone with her street smarts and take-no-crap attitude, but sometimes she could be a bit of a loose cannon. And that cannon had worse aim than I did.

She huffed into the office and flopped on the couch almost popping out of her top.

"I just don't know what to do with her," she sighed.

"Problems with a neighbor?" I asked grabbing a donut hole from Connie's desk.

"Sister," she said. Connie and I looked at each other. For whatever reason, I never thought of Lula having a family. Well, at least not in the traditional sense.

"Well, half-sister," she continued. "Different dads." Connie and I nodded.

"What's the problem with her?" Connie asked.

"Guess she's kinda the success story from our group. Went and got a GED and started her own business. We were kinda close growin' up, and we've been in touch over the years, so I was excited when she asked if she could come for a visit. But the girl's insane! She's got more clothes than I do all packed in her fancy suitcases, and she keeps houndin' me to eat better and exercise. Actually, I think her exact words were somethin' like 'act your age.' I tell you what, she acts like a 97-year-old prude, that's what." I smirked over at Connie. I had a feeling Lula would never act her age, which was really part of what made Lula Lula. It worked for her.

"I think I might need a sugar run to balance out my crazy this morning," Lula said after readjusting her outfit. She looked over at me. "What's our game plan for the day?"

"I have somewhere to be at eleven," I said. "So I figured we'd scope out Bruno's place this morning and come up with a plan for the takedown later this afternoon."

"Perfect," she said. "Just what I need to get my mind off of Tiny."

"Tiny's your sister, right?" I asked as we headed out the door.

"Of course," she replied. "Who else would it be?" I smiled. No one.


	4. Chapter 4

Bruno lived in a broken-down apartment complex that was, with traffic, about an hour's drive away from the bonds office. He'd been picked up on some drug charges and resisting arrest. Based on his picture from his file, he seemed easy enough to deal with. Early forties, heavy-set, and a face that looked young with chubby cheeks and a red-tinged patchy beard. Lula thought he looked cute in a disheveled kind of way.

"Wonder why he wouldn't show up for his court date. He seems on the up and up to me." I shrugged. I'd given up trying to understand why some people didn't just suck it up and go in. I guess it kept me employed when they didn't, so I shouldn't complain.

We pulled up to the curb across the street from the apartments, and sat in my car while Lula finished her fourth Boston Crème.

"You feeling ok?" she asked between bites. "You only had one donut." I debated telling her about the package and the terrifying nightmare I'd had but decided against it for now. I wanted to talk with Ranger first.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired, I guess." Lula gave me a wry smile.

"Officer Hottie keeping you up all night?" I rolled my eyes.

"I don't think I'd be looking like _this_ if that were the case," I muttered. She got an excited look on her face.

"Hey, now that's an idea," she laughed. I gave her an eyebrow raise. "Does Morelli have any single friends?"

I shrugged. "Maybe a few, why?"

"If we could get my sister a fella while she's here, she probably wouldn't have time to lay into me so much. She'd be doing her 'laying' elsewhere if you know what I mean." She winked.

"Gross, thanks for that," I said. I glanced down at my new watch from Ranger. "Sorry to cut this stakeout short, but I've got somewhere to be. The plan seems simple enough with Bruno. I bet we could just knock on the door and grab him. Probably wouldn't even put up much of a fight."

"I'll bring Ole Trusty just in case," Lula said patting her handbag.

"No guns," I said sternly. Her shoulders sagged a little in disappointment.

"You're such a buzzkill sometimes," she frowned.

We made our way back to the bonds office. "You know where to find me for the takedown," Lula said as she climbed out of the car. "I'll either be here keeping Connie company, or I might swing by the Cluck in a Bucket for lunch. Don't forget to ask Morelli about his guy friends. It's either that or you might be posting my bail here in a few days." With one final readjustment of her tube top, she strutted back into the office.

I pulled my visor mirror down and gave myself the once-over. Other than the huge dark circles under my eyes and the fading bruise on my forehead, I looked decent enough. It wasn't like it should matter anyway. Ranger and I were just going to talk business. As far as I knew, we were nothing more than friends, and this wasn't a date. Still, whenever I met up with Ranger, I wanted to look good. He always did.

I pulled up to the garage of the seven-story nondescript building ten minutes before eleven and waved to the security camera. There was an open parking spot waiting for me next to Ranger's personal vehicles. I took the elevator to the fifth floor and smiled to myself as the doors opened. The security firm was bustling with activity, and I nodded a greeting to some of the familiar faces dressed in the Rangeman black uniforms.

Tank offered a small smile at me from across the room, and I walked over to say 'Hi.'

"How's your head?" he asked looking up from his computer. I rubbed the sore spot on my forehead. The swelling had gone down, and there was only a hint of a bruise.

"It's still a little sore, but I think I'll live." I offered a smile. "Is Ranger around? I'm supposed to meet him at eleven." Tank nodded.

"He's in his office." He leaned a little closer. "Not in the best of moods, if you know what I mean. Don't tell him I said anything." I pulled an imaginary zipper across my lips and locked it.

"Got it," I said as I made my way back to the main office.

I tapped the door lightly and walked in. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" I asked taking a seat in one of the chairs. Ranger finished typing something on his computer and looked up at me. He was dressed in a black Rangeman T-shirt and cargo pants, his usual work uniform unless he was meeting with clients. He didn't look quite as put together today for some reason, but he was still handsome as ever.

"Do you mind if we go upstairs to talk?" he asked. I felt a shiver of panic. Ranger's private apartment was upstairs, and nothing good ever came of us being alone in it together.

"Maybe it would be safer down here," I suggested.

"Think I'm dangerous?" he asked with a hint of a smile.

"Always," I sighed.

"Babe."

He took my hand and pulled me out of the chair. "We'll keep it strictly business," he said turning serious. "I promise." He crossed his heart with his finger. I rolled my eyes but gave in anyway.

We rode in silence up two more stories to the seventh floor. Ranger's apartment was cool and immaculately kept by his beyond-amazing housekeeper, Ella. Ranger had claimed this space to live in, but Ella was the one who really made it a home. She cleaned, brought meals, and kept the bathroom stocked with the Bulgari shower gel that Ranger used and had become a sort of kryptonite for me over the years. The smell was intoxicating, and so was Ranger. It lingered in his apartment and reignited my growing sense of panic. I took a deep breath. As long as there wasn't another kiss like before, I could probably handle this.

"Want something to drink?" he asked heading for the kitchen.

"Considering the current state of my nerves, I would kill for some hard liquor. But taking into account my history with the stuff and the fact that it's still morning, I better stick with a glass of water." His mouth twitched in amusement as he went and poured two glasses. We both took a seat at the table. I watched him, waiting for the news on the packages.

"Well?" I finally asked. His jaw tightened.

"I have some bad news. The forensics guy didn't come up with anything."

"That's not exactly unexpected, is it?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No, but I had another package left on my car this morning." My eyes widened.

"Here?" The seven-story Rangeman fortress was under pretty tight security. Not only that, but if you did manage to break in, your fate was pretty much sealed. Ranger wasn't exactly lenient when it came to disrupting his protected and personal space.

"So where are you keeping the body?" I asked sarcastically. Ranger frowned.

"I didn't catch whoever did it. They were probably long gone by the time I made it into the garage anyway."

I raised an eyebrow. "Nothing on the security footage?"

He shook his head. "Nothing out of the norm. The package isn't on the car one moment and then suddenly it is. The cameras could have been tampered with. I'm looking into it."

"What was in it?"

"You really don't want to know." Considering the other "gifts" we'd received, he was probably right.

"Have you been home today?" he asked. I shook my head. My stomach was starting to feel queasy. Now I was almost certain the man in black hadn't been a dream. "Are you feeling ok?" he asked.

"I think someone broke into Morelli's last night." Ranger's eyes grew dark.

"Did they leave you something else?" I shook my head.

"No. At least I don't think so. I couldn't sleep so I was downstairs on the couch. I'd drifted off, and someone dressed in black with a mask appeared. I was pretty sure I was still sleeping, but I could see his eyes and feel his breath on my cheek. He said 'let the games begin.' Whoever it was somehow managed to disappear before Morelli made it downstairs to check on me because there wasn't a trace of him once the lights were flipped on. I tried to convince myself that it was just a dream, but the front door was unlocked, and now with all of this, I'm really not so sure."

Ranger's eyes were fiery and dark and his hands were clenched in tight fists. Another unusual display of emotion. I touched his arm, and he seemed to regain some control again.

"I'm working on a list of possible suspects," he said. "But considering what we have so far, this person obviously isn't just playing games. They know what they're doing. You and I both know how difficult it is to get in here. You may want to start coming up with a cover story for Morelli in case we need to move you to a safe house for a while." I slumped in my chair.

"Great." He took a sip of water.

"Listen, I know this is a lot for you to deal with right now. You could stay here this afternoon," he offered. "Take the day off, have a hot shower, grab a nap. I'd even ask Ella to whip up something in the kitchen for you if you want. And the best part is I'll be downstairs if anybody tries anything." He paused. "Or if you need someone to help take your mind off things," he smiled at me seductively. My hand almost knocked over my glass of water.

"I've gotta go pick up a skip with Lula this afternoon," I said pretending not to hear the last comment. "And I should probably swing by Morelli's. I don't want him coming home to any horrifying surprises." Ranger sighed.

"I'd feel better if you were here." I shook my head.

"Not gonna happen."

"Fine," he said. "At least let me come with you back to the house later. If someone's there waiting, I don't want you meeting up with them alone." I finally conceded, and told him I'd call once Lula and I had the Bruno thing under wraps.

Ranger walked me back to the elevator. We rode down in silence, but my heart skipped a beat when he stopped it just before we reached the fifth floor. He turned and looked at me.

"Listen, I'm sorry about earlier. Once we're past all this stuff, I really need to talk with you about something." He paused and leaned into me. I closed my eyes expecting a kiss like before, but nothing happened. Finally his lips brushed my cheek, and I heard the elevator doors open.

"I need to get back to work," he said exiting the elevator. "Call me when you're done with Bruno." I watched him walk back into the room as the doors slowly closed. Something was definitely going on with Ranger, but strange as it was, it was the least of my worries.


	5. Chapter 5

Before I knew it, I was back at Vinnie's where Lula was waiting for me with a bucket of chicken from Cluck-in-a-Bucket.

"I think I saved you a piece or two," she said. I glanced in the bucket. It was empty. I turned it upside down and shook it.

"Saved me a piece, huh?" Lula frowned.

"I guess I was hungrier than I thought. It's the stress. My sister's got me stress eating. She called me twice while you were out on your mysterious errand. Wanna know why? She bought me a freakin' vacuum! Called and said my place was a mess and asked where my vacuum was. I told her not to worry about it, and the next thing I know she's calling me from the store to see which vacuum model I want. She's bein' a real pain in the ass." A free vacuum didn't sound all that bad to me, but I could tell now wasn't the time to explain that to Lula.

"Want to swing by somewhere so I can grab a bite to eat before picking up Bruno?" I asked. Lula shrugged.

"Yeah, I could use a milkshake to wash down all that chicken I ate. Can we take your car again? I don't want my sister nitpicking mine if we get crumbs on the seats." I shrugged.

"Why not?"

Two chicken sandwiches and two large chocolate milkshakes later, Lula and I were sitting back in front of Bruno's apartment. The afternoon was moving along quickly, and I was anxious to make it back to Morelli's before he got home. I heaved a sigh and tried to mentally prepare myself for the job at hand.

"Let's go in and get him," I said grabbing a few things from my bag. I assumed Bruno would be an easy take-down, so I grabbed my cuffs and a bottle of mace just in case. Lula probably had her gun with her too, but we definitely wouldn't need it. It was for worst case scenarios only.

Lula and I walked into the apartment building and took the stairs to the second floor. I knocked on Bruno's door and waited for an answer. Nothing. I knocked again, growing a little impatient, and started calling for him.

"Bruno," I said in a raised voice. "It's Stephanie Plum. You missed your court date. I need you to come with me to get bonded out again. I promise it won't take long." No answer. "Come answer the door, Bruno," I called. Lula looked over at me and shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess he's not home." Like hell he wasn't! And I was tired of everyone making my life so difficult lately. I kicked the door with my foot in frustration. To my surprise, the door opened.

"Bruno?" I called. Lula and I walked into the apartment. It wouldn't be the first time I walked into someone's home uninvited. But if he really wanted his privacy, he should have made sure his door wasn't busted.

Lula and I looked around for a moment until I heard some commotion coming from one of the bedrooms.

"Bruno?" I said as I slowly opened the door. Bruno was stripped down to a grungy white tank top and his boxers. He had a gash in his forehead and the beginnings of a black eye; there was a slab of tape over his mouth and he was tied to a chair. My initial instincts were to get the heck out of there. Immediately. Whoever beat me to Bruno obviously wasn't in the mood to play nice. I turned to grab Lula and run, but she wasn't standing next to me anymore. I could always count on Lula to disappear right when I needed her.

Bruno noticed me in the doorway and started making a big commotion. I ran over to him and pulled off the tape.

"Yow!" he yelled. "I fink you just wipped my wips off." I was about to apologize when I felt that eerie feeling that someone was standing behind me. I doubted it was Ranger. I sure hoped it was Lula.

I spun around just in time to get shoved into Bruno by two very large arms. I fell into the chair and knocked Bruno over.

"You have a date with some ho's, Bruno?" the rhino in black jeans asked. Both of us were too dazed to answer.

"The black one was a little feisty, so I had to calm her down and lock her in the closet." I sure hoped "calm her down" wasn't a euphemism for murder. "But this one," he crossed his arms over his enormous body. "She looks like she might be fun to take for a test drive." I quickly scrambled to my feet. Nothing like a rape threat to get your adrenaline pumping.

Rhino was blocking the doorway, but if there was one thing I learned from Ranger in all our time on the job it was that big things moved slower than little things. I'd bet dollars to donuts that if I could get the giant to enter the room, take him by surprise with a swift kick to the crotch, then I'd be free and clear to zip out faster than lightning. Unfortunately, that still left Bruno and Lula. Rhino would probably rebound faster than I had time to save the other two. I needed some backup.

As he was moving toward me in the room, I carefully pressed the panic button on my watch. Hopefully a Rangeman employee was in the neighborhood. A street over would be really nice.

Rhino grabbed for me, but I was ready for his approach. I ducked quickly and landed a decent kick between his legs. Surprisingly, Rhino didn't budge. His eyes didn't bulge and he didn't topple over like I'd anticipated. If anything, he was slightly stunned by my dodge tactic. Great.

He was still blocking my exit, and considering he was the size of a mountain, I didn't have time to come up with a plan B. A terrible grin spread across his face revealing the glimmer of a gold tooth. Gross.

"Clever little ho," he said pulling me up to him by the shirt. His face was right next to mine, and I could feel his breath on my face. It reeked. "I'm made of steel, baby," he whispered. "You're coming with me for a first-hand experience."

I tried to keep my head clear, but panic was quickly setting in. I squirmed, wriggled, and yelled for all I was worth as he dragged me to the next room.

"Now don't make me mad," he growled, obviously feeling annoyed by all my movement. "I'm not very nice when I'm mad." He shoved me to the floor, and I landed funny on my wrist. My head was clanging with fear, adrenaline, and now pain. I thought for a moment that I heard some commotion from the other room, but it stopped quickly. It must have been Lula trying to break free from the closet. At least she wasn't dead.

Rhino grabbed my shirt again, this time with both hands, and ripped it right down the middle. I glared at him. "That was my favorite shirt!" I yelled.

"It was in the way," he growled. "What're you going to do about it?" He reached for my bra, and I batted his hand away.

"Not a thing," I said calmly. "But he'll do plenty."

A flash of black whipped through the room and Rhino was suddenly yanked off of me and thrown with a mighty force up against the wall. This of course didn't faze him much, but the stun gun with enough voltage for an elephant did. He slumped to the floor with glazed eyes and drool trickling out of his mouth. Ranger came over and pulled me to my feet.

I tried to do something with my shirt, but it was no use. Ranger unzipped his black windbreaker and tossed it over to me.

"You ok?" he asked. I was still shaking a little from the adrenaline.

"B-b-been b-b-better," I said feeling the stutters set in again. He pulled me over to him and wrapped me in his arms. I rested my head against his shoulder while I waited for my breathing to return to normal. After a moment, I looked up.

"Is Lula ok?" I asked.

"Got a nasty bump on her head," he said. "But I think she'll be ok. How about you? Anything broken?" I shook my head automatically until I remembered landing on my wrist. I held it up and Ranger looked at it, running his fingers gently along the bones. It gave me an involuntary shiver.

"Doesn't look broken," he said. "Probably just a sprain." He led me out of the room and back toward the main entrance. Lula was leaning up against a wall with a bag of ice pressed up against her head.

"Ranger to the rescue again," she said. I nodded numbly.

A few minutes later Tank showed up. Ranger told him to take Lula back to the bonds office and deliver Bruno into police custody. I'd get the body receipt later.

"What about the Rhino?" I asked as Tank walked Bruno down to the Rangeman fleet car. Ranger walked back to the room and glanced in.

"I'll leave him for the Trenton PD," he said. "But until then…" Rhino was coming to, and Ranger walked over to him and knelt down. "If you _ever_ lay a hand on this woman again," he growled pointing my direction. "I'll personally see to it that your recreational activities are _permanently restricted_." He zapped Rhino with the stun gun once more, and we went back out to the living room to wait for the police.


	6. Chapter 6

It was getting late in the afternoon by the time Ranger pulled up in front of Morelli's house. We'd driven the long distance back in silence. It wasn't uncharacteristic for Ranger who talked slightly more than my hamster, but it was for me. After the day I'd had, I was too tired to make small talk.

We walked up to the front door, and I handed Ranger my key. He unlocked the door and pulled the gun from his hip. Ten minutes later, he'd done a thorough walk-through of the house and determined there weren't any bogeymen lurking in the shadows. At least for now.

I walked in and fell in a heap on the couch. "You look like you could use a drink," Ranger said taking a seat next to me.

"I could use a different life," I sighed. A tear slid down my cheek despite my best efforts to keep my emotions in check until I was by myself again. Ranger brushed it away and pulled me closer to him. He kissed the top of my head, and I sniffled. We just sat there for a moment.

"Any updates on our mystery acquaintance?" I asked trying to distract myself from the tears welling up behind my eyes.

"I have a few leads," he said softly. "But nothing standing out at this point. I don't like waiting around for his next move. We need to stop being a step behind, but until I know more, we don't have much of a choice."

Ranger had access to a lot of resources for tracking people down. It was incredibly disconcerting that this person was able to move in the shadows without leaving a trace. Skill-wise, it seemed like pitting Ranger against himself. Ranger was almost inhuman in his tactical abilities and coolness under pressure. I didn't like the idea of someone with those same abilities and much darker intent.

Ranger stood and disappeared for a moment up the stairs. He returned with a clean t-shirt and an ace bandage.

"I don't think Morelli would be too happy to see you in a shirt torn in half like that. Especially wearing my windbreaker." That was an understatement. Morelli tolerated a lot of my interactions with Ranger. After all, we worked together from time to time and Ranger was good at keeping me safe. But I'd seen what could happen if he suspected Ranger had crossed a line. And it wasn't pretty.

Ranger helped me unzip the jacket and pulled the tattered t-shirt remnants off my shoulders. He tugged the clean shirt over my head, and I pulled my arms through. He sat and carefully wrapped my wrist in the bandage. He leaned back and looked me over.

"There," he said. "Almost good as new." I offered a weak smile.

"Do you always go to this much trouble for Rangeman employees?" I asked. He grinned.

"Only the really special ones." He leaned in to kiss my cheek, but I turned at the last minutes and our lips touched. The kiss lingered, but I could feel his hesitation. Ranger pulled back, but I leaned in closer. I was feeling scared and vulnerable, and all I wanted was to be wrapped up in his arms, his kiss making every problem dissolve into thin air. Eventually his hands pushed back gently against my shoulders.

"I should go," he whispered. He headed for the door then turned back like he forgot something. I could tell there was something he wanted to tell me, but his expression changed, and he decided against it. "Stay alert. I don't think we've seen the worst from this guy." And just like that he was gone.

By now, I was used to his abrupt departures, but I wasn't used to him putting this distance between us. On any other day it was all I could do to keep my guard up and hold _him_ at bay. Here I'd practically thrown myself at him, and he'd been the one to hold up the red flag. It was probably for the best, but I didn't like it.

A half an hour later, the lock tumbled on the door and Morelli walked in carrying a box and a bag from the Tasty Pastry.

"I heard from the guys in the precinct that you probably had a pretty rough day," he said. "I brought birthday cake and donuts." I jumped up from the couch and ran over to him tackling him in a giant bear hug. I kissed him about a hundred times before he even had a chance to speak.

"I take it you approve," he smiled. I went to the cupboard and grabbed two plates, cut off two generous slices of cake that wished some girl named Hannah a happy birthday, and grabbed a Boston Crème to snack on while I made it back to the couch.

"I take it your skip wasn't as easy a take-down as you were anticipating," Morelli said taking a bite of his cake and subtly eyeing my bandaged wrist. I shook my head as I shoveled a frosting flower into my mouth.

"Bruno was initially picked up on drug charges. I think the Rhino was there to rough him up a little in case he felt like talking to the police. Or something along those lines anyway." I took another bite of the cake.

"I should have realized someone else was there. The door was already broken when Lula and I came to pick him up. It was really stupid on my part, and I'm lucky Ranger made it there when he did. That rhino guy wanted to take advantage of me in every possible way."

Morelli's eyes grew dark and his jaw clenched. It took several moments of deep breathing before his blood pressure returned to normal. I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks," he said. "But I still think I'm seeing red. I don't like thinking about you in those kinds of dangerous situations. Or any dangerous situation for that matter. Or thinking about you and Ranger. Even if it's just work."

I felt a flutter of guilt. I still hadn't told Morelli about my surprise package or the horrifying visitor in black. The Ranger stuff was normal, but if he was this worked up over a near-miss with my job, I'd hate to see how ballistic he'd go with a deranged psychopath on my tail; especially one who had broken into his house. And I was still keeping secrets from him. It all felt terrible.

I finished up my cake and snuggled in next to Morelli on the couch. He flipped on the TV and found some sporting event to watch. I must have been thoroughly exhausted because the last thing I semi-remember was being carried upstairs to bed.

I was grateful the next morning when I woke up to Morelli's alarm clock going off next to the bed. Even if it was 5:45 in the morning. It meant that there hadn't been any nightmares or crazy people in black whispering foreboding messages in my ear. It was looking up to be a not-so-bad kind of day. Except maybe for the early morning and the sore wrist.

Morelli went and hopped in the shower, and I went downstairs to make some coffee. I hesitantly flipped on the kitchen light almost anticipating a new surprise to be waiting for me on the counter. I blew out a sigh of relief when nothing was there. Now that I was no longer scared out of my wits, the earliness of the morning sunk in, and I yawned stretching my arms high above my head. Warm arms came and wrapped around my waist from behind then playfully spun me around. Morelli's hair was still damp from his shower, and he smelled _really_ good. He leaned down to nuzzle my neck.

"Show off skin like that, Cupcake, and you're just asking for trouble." I gave him a mischievous smile and kissed him.

We were halfway up the stairs again when his cell phone rang.

"Man, I hate this thing," he groaned pulling his hand out from under my shirt. From the look in his eyes, I could tell he really wanted to ignore the call. He stared at me for a moment, shook his head then finally answered his phone.

"Morelli," he said with a frown. "Yeah. Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can." He looked up at me with a sigh.

"Raincheck?" he asked. I nodded and kissed him again as he headed back down the stairs.

"Sorry," I called after him. "I didn't get the chance to start the coffee. _Somebody_ distracted me." Morelli smiled as he grabbed his jacket, his gun, and his keys.

"No worries. I'll grab some at the station." I blew him an overly dramatic kiss as he headed out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

I still wasn't super enthusiastic about being alone in Morelli's house, so I flipped on all the lights in the kitchen and living room and decided to check my email. Rex poked his head out of his soup can in hopes of breakfast. I walked to the kitchen to grab him a cracker, and Bob bounded my direction and cornered me.

"You need to go out, big guy?" I asked patting his head. He slobbered on my pants in the affirmative. I opened the back door for him and watched as he raced out into the yard circling three times before squatting and relieving himself. I flipped on the yard light and jumped back. There was a vase of dead flowers sitting near the door.

The optimistic side of me wanted to believe that Morelli had bought me flowers, hid them outside, and completely forgot about them. I gave the vase the once over looking for any signs of foul play, but from a glance I didn't come up with any. It wasn't until I went to pick up the vase that I noticed it.

The dead flowers had an oddly familiar scent. It was hard to detect at first because Bob had started digging, and all I could really smell was fresh dirt. I stuck my nose right up next to the flowers and inhaled. Sure enough, the dead flowers smelled slightly of Ranger's Bulgari shower gel. Not good.

I nervously called Bob back in the house and went to find my cell phone.

"It could be worse," I thought. "The flowers could have been waiting on the kitchen counter." Still, this was the third morning in a row of shenanigans, and they were all giving me a very bad vibe. I dialed Ranger's number.

"You haven't been sending flowers, have you?" I asked when I heard the phone pick up. No answer. "Ranger?" I said. "Quit with the awkward silences already. I got a weird flower delivery this morning, and I need you to come and check it out." More silence. I glanced at my phone. The call was still going, and it was connected to the right number. Maybe it was a bad connection?

I was about to hang up when I heard a faint sound on the other end. "Ranger? Is that you?" My heart dropped in my chest and I got a really bad feeling.

I went and looked out the front window. Thankfully Ranger or one of his men had dropped my car off last night. I'd forgotten all about it amidst all the excitement with Bruno. I glanced down at my phone. The call was still going. I put it on speaker and raced to throw on some jeans and a clean t-shirt. Bob watched me with a worried expression.

"Everything's alright, Bob," I said mostly to reassure myself. I filled Bob's food and water bowls and dashed out the door.

Halfway down the street, I realized that I wasn't entirely sure if Ranger was even at the Rangeman building. It was still early in the morning, but for all I knew Ranger had pulled an all-nighter and was out somewhere taking care of a client. Since I had nothing else to go on, I sped towards Rangeman. If he wasn't there, at least there would be people who would know where to find him.

As I pulled up to the building, I heard some crackling on the phone followed by an eerily familiar raspy voice.

"Does the cop know?" it breathed ominously, and the line went dead.

"Does which cop know what?" I yelled in my car. "What does that have to do with anything, you sick psychopath?" I pulled into the Rangeman garage at warp speed and screeched into the first available parking spot. I skipped the elevator and took the stairs by two's until I'd made it to the fifth floor.

I stormed into the room and frantically ran toward Ranger's office. The door was half-open, but Ranger wasn't there. I yelled for Tank. Hal, yet another oversized Rangeman employee, poked his head in the door.

"Tank's out right now," he said calmly. "Ranger didn't come in this morning, so Tank's picking up his rounds." Shit.

I sprinted back toward the elevator and sent it to the seventh floor. I wasn't sure what I was expecting to find. For all I knew, Ranger had been drugged, kidnapped, and was now dead at the bottom of a river. The door opened, and I dug out the spare key Ranger had given me to his apartment. I choked back a nervous whine and tried to steady my hand to open his door.

The apartment felt normal enough. Nothing was overturned or out of place. No sign of a scuffle. No blood dripping off the walls. Ella's flowers were in a vase in the entryway, and breakfast was sitting on the kitchen counter.

"Ranger?" I called.

I was kicking myself for not having my gun. Wasn't Ranger always telling me to keep it accessible? Now here I was in a situation where I could really use it, and I was coming up empty. I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and kept walking through the apartment.

I went into the bedroom. No Ranger. The bed was still unmade and the walk-in closet door was open. Ella hadn't made her rounds yet this morning. I poked my head in and flipped on the light. Ranger's all-black wardrobe hung in pristine condition. His shoes were neatly organized on the floor. No bogeymen in the shadows.

I walked back through the bedroom to the bathroom. At first glance it was empty, but then I saw a dark form crumpled in the corner.

"Ranger!" I yelled dropping the knife and rushing over to him. His eyes were glazed over and he was foaming at the mouth. "Oh my gosh! Help!" I screamed in a panic. I couldn't gather my thoughts long enough to figure out what to do. From the looks of it, Ranger must have been poisoned, but what did I know about poison?

My hands were shaking so violently, it took me five tries to unlock my phone. First I called 9-1-1 then I called downstairs to Rangeman. Several men in black came barging into the room minutes later. Hal pulled me to my feet, and gave me a hug.

"Ranger's been through worse," he said in an effort to console me. "He'll pull through." My legs felt like jelly, and I watched in a daze as people hovered over Ranger muttering different things. Finally the paramedics showed up and took him out on a stretcher. His eyes were still glazed; he was still unconscious.

Eventually things died down and everyone made their way out of the apartment except for Hal and a few cops. Hal stayed behind for me. While the cops returned to the bathroom to look for evidence of foul play, I crumpled to the floor in the kitchen and started crying.

"Someone was in here," I sobbed. "I called Ranger, and someone else answered." Hal looked at me incredulously.

"No disrespect, but do you have any idea how difficult it is to get in here?" he asked. "Ranger's like Mr. Security. I'm pretty sure he specially designed the system in here. As far as I know, it's impenetrable."

Even I had to admit that things weren't adding up. Of course I'd never had to _officially_ break into the apartment before, but I knew Ranger had many high-end clients that trusted and respected his security systems. They were state of the art.

There was the slim possibility that it could have been someone working on the inside, but the hiring process at Rangeman was extensive. Ranger trusted every single one of his employees, and if there was any suspicious activity, it didn't take long for Ranger to uncover it. This whole situation seemed incredibly suspicious.

I wiped my face on my shirt, and Hal pulled me to my feet offering me a tissue for my still-running nose. I wasn't sure how much information Ranger had shared with his crew about our recent problems, but I knew most of it probably wasn't public knowledge. As much as I liked Hal, I decided to keep my thoughts on the situation to myself.

We both walked to the door and back to the elevator while the police finished with their walkthrough.

"I probably need to head down to the station to give my statement about what happened," I sniffed. "With Ranger out, do you think you'll get the day off?" Hal looked over at me and laughed.

"Yeah right. He'll expect double the effort. We might even have to put in some overtime." That _totally_ sounded like Ranger. In fact, if he was conscious, he was probably giving the nurses hell to let him out of the hospital. The thought almost made me grin until I remembered how he looked leaving the apartment. What if he didn't wake up? I tried to push the thought from my mind as I dropped Hal off at the fifth floor.

"Thanks for staying up there with me," I said giving Hal a peck on the cheek. "Sorry I came unglued." He smiled.

"Anytime," he said. I watched him walk off into the bustling workplace as the doors closed. I continued down into the garage in the basement and went and sat in my car. I grabbed a pen from the floor under the passenger seat and found an old receipt to write on. It was time to jot some things down, but I had no idea where to start.

I tapped the pen on my steering wheel then threw it across the car in frustration. I was upset, confused and slightly terrified. And I hadn't a clue what to do next. A small part of me wanted to go check on Ranger at the hospital, but I knew I wasn't ready to see him hooked up to all those machines. The other part of me wanted to sneak back upstairs to his apartment to do some snooping.

If Hal was right and Ranger's apartment was impenetrable, there were only three possibilities of who could have been responsible for the poisoning. There was Ranger, who owned the place and had the master key. I figured it was pretty safe to assume he wasn't suicidal. I had a key, and as far as I knew, it had been in my possession the entire time of the incident. And the last person who had access to the apartment was Ella, Ranger's resident housekeeper. She and her husband lived on the fourth floor of the building and provided their impeccable custodial talents and cooking services. Maybe it was time to pay Ella a visit.


	8. Chapter 8

Since the police were probably still occupied on the seventh floor, I would probably go unnoticed if I casually made my way to the fourth. Of course, the Rangeman camera monitors could prove to be a problem. In case anyone intercepted me, I needed a cover story. Ella had done some laundry for me in the past. She'd also given me a spare outfit or two while things were in the wash. If I came up looking like a wreck, maybe I could justify a visit to her apartment.

I looked around for some ideas. There was a giant, industrial dumpster in a secluded corner of the garage, so I took a deep breath, equal parts courage and insanity, and got out of my car. It might be difficult to believe that dumpster diving isn't a new activity for me, but hey, I'm from Jersey. Also, I deal with people on a daily basis who aren't exactly happy to see me. Let's just say I definitely know my way around a dumpster.

I gave a quick look around before opening the lid, hoisting myself up, and swinging my legs over. On any other day, I probably would have been absolutely horrified and disgusted by being surrounded by so many obnoxious smells and textures, but today I was on a mission, and my focus wasn't going to be swayed by a little stinky garbage. I even rubbed a little on my jeans and t-shirt. Gross!

When I decided I was adequately covered in slimy mulch, I pulled myself out of the bin and made my way back to the elevator. In order to sell my situation, I even scowled a little as I entered.

"Stupid skip," I muttered under my breath. "When I get my hands on him… That scoundrel's going to wish he'd never heard the name Stephanie Plum." Ok, so maybe I was being a little overly dramatic, but I'm pretty sure a similar situation may have occurred a while back, and I wasn't pretending then.

The doors opened on the fourth floor. I poked my head out. So far no Rangeman employees had come to interrogate me. Perfect.

I walked down the hallway to Ella's door. A wave of panic flashed through me. What if the poisoner had murdered Ella and her husband and was hanging out in her apartment? For the second time that day I was really wishing I had my gun.

Pushing all common sense aside, I went ahead and knocked on the door.

"Ella?" I called. "It's me, Stephanie Plum." No answer. "I kind of had an incident with a skip. You wouldn't happen to have a spare outfit on hand?" The door cracked open a little. Ella peeked around the door. "Oh heavens!" she exclaimed pulling me quickly inside. The apartment smelled divine. Ella was obviously in the middle of cooking something delicious.

"Sorry," she said in the entryway. "I thought you might have been the police. I just heard about what happened with Ranger. I'm afraid I'm still a little shaken up." That made two of us.

She looked me over. "I'm sorry to say this," she frowned. "But you smell awful. Here, let me go grab you some clothes and you can shower in my bathroom." Ella was the very essence of hospitality.

I jumped in the shower and finished in record time. My hair was a frizzball nightmare, but it wasn't important. I needed to have a heart-to-heart with Ella. From the way she was acting earlier, it seemed likely that she knew something.

I walked out of the bathroom and found her in the kitchen with a pot simmering on the stove.

"That smells heavenly," I said breathing in the savory aromas. She was stirring it with a vacant expression on her face. "Is everything ok?" I asked touching her shoulder. She jumped a little, snapping back into the present.

"Oh my goodness!" She put a hand to her chest. "I didn't notice you were there." I smiled.

"What would I have to do to get a bowl of that?" I asked. As if on command, my stomach rumbled loudly. Ella placed the lid over it.

"I honestly think it isn't one of my better recipes. Maybe I'll make you something even better later." I raised an eyebrow.

"Smells fine to me," I said reaching for a spoon. "Just a taste?"

Ella looked at me with a pained expression. A wrinkle of worry creased her brow, and then out of nowhere she burst into tears.

"Oh Stephanie," she wailed. "I think I may have poisoned Ranger!" Interesting. Hadn't anticipated that. But I guess that explained part of the mystery. Still, I couldn't see Ella as the mastermind behind all of the scary weird stuff going on.

"What do you mean?" I asked giving her a hug. Every time she tried to say something, she erupted into a new round of hysterical sobs. At least if she did poison Ranger, she was obviously sorry about it.

"I made his breakfast," she sniffled. So far this wasn't anything out of the norm. The few times I'd stayed over, Ranger had called down and Ella magically appeared with an assortment of culinary delights. I'd definitely risk sharing space with Ranger permanently if it meant unlimited access to Ella's tasty confections. She was an amazing cook.

She was starting to pull herself back together, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.

"I was out of cayenne pepper the other day," she said. "I even had it on my grocery list, but this morning I looked in my spice cupboard and miraculously a new cayenne was just sitting there. It wasn't what I usually buy, but I assumed my husband had bought it or something. I put it in Ranger's egg-white omelet this morning. You know how he likes everything spicy…" I nodded.

"Next thing I know, I'm on my way up to clean and there's the whole Rangeman staff in the apartment along with a few boys in blue. I panicked when I started to put things together. That apartment is completely off limits to anyone other than Ranger, so the poison could have only come from someone on the inside. Naturally, I assumed you didn't poison him, dear." That was thoughtful. Good to know she didn't think of me as a killer.

"I had started this soup this morning before delivering breakfast. I was trying to figure out a way to test it before you stopped by." Unfortunately the soup smelled so good at that moment that I was debating if I should be the guinea pig. If it was just a small taste, it wouldn't be lethal, right?

I took the lid off and dipped my spoon in, but Ella batted it out of my hand.

"I'm not going to let you poison yourself," she huffed. "We need to get this to a lab." My stomach growled its disappointment.

"If you have a container, I can probably take it over to the police department. I need to head down there anyway to give my statement from this morning." And I still wasn't sure who I could trust at Rangeman.

Ella grabbed some Tupperware and filled it with a few scoops of soup. She must have seen me lick my lips because she wrapped the Tupperware in two dish cloths and wrapped the whole thing in duct tape.

"Point taken," I sighed. She went and opened a jar on the counter and pulled out a cookie.

"Here," she said with a smile. "Maybe this will tide you over." I took a bite as I went back down the elevator and sighed. Even if Ella's cookie was potentially laced with poison, it was totally worth dying over.


	9. Chapter 9

Several minutes later I was parked outside the Trenton police station. I had called Morelli on the way over, and he was waiting for me in the parking lot.

"Sounds like you had another eventful morning," he said as he gave me a hug. Without me even noticing, a tear slid down my cheek. The stress was getting to me. Morelli wiped it away with his hand.

"How's Ranger?" he asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Hard to say. He was practically catatonic when I found him. Still unresponsive when they took him away on a stretcher." I heaved a sigh and more tears slid down my cheeks.

Morelli got a funny look on his face. "Why were you over there?" he asked. "It seems like it's been a while since you two have worked together. With the exception of yesterday, I didn't even think you'd seen him recently. Is there something going on that I should know about?"

There it was. Detective Morelli on the case. Of course he was probably assuming that with things going so well between us, I was probably getting cold feet again. The rationality was sound because it had happened before. But the reality was that Ranger and I were both being targeted by a crazy psychopath. It probably hadn't even crossed his mind. I wanted desperately to tell him the truth because I was running low on creative energy and excuses.

"I got a call from him this morning," I said, which was kind of true…in a lying sort of way. "Although it wasn't him. Someone else was on the line, so I decided to head over to Rangeman. It was weird. It's like whoever it was wanted Ranger to be found before…" I couldn't finish the thought.

Suddenly I had a realization. After my sleuthing this morning, it seemed that Ella was the one who had poisoned Ranger with the breakfast, which meant that there wasn't necessarily someone else in the apartment. If that was the case, then what was the deal with the voice on the phone?

"Everything ok?" Morelli asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "Sorry, I was just trying to puzzle through something. Rangeman's security is top-of-the-line, so it seems unlikely that there was someone actually _in_ Ranger's apartment that didn't have a key. I've been checking around, and I might have an idea about the poison situation, but I'm still stumped by the call. Is it possible to hack someone's phone, you know, like they do in the movies?" Morelli shrugged.

"Yeah. I think anything technology-related can be hacked. I can look into it more if you want."

"That would be great." I reached into my car. "Could you also have this tested for poison?" I asked. Morelli eyed the mass in taped dish cloths.

"Have you been cooking again?" he asked with a devious smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Good grief."

He took the container and did a slow body scan. "We still on for tonight?" he asked seductively tracing a line down my chest. I bat his hand away.

"Stop that," I hissed looking around. "Someone might see us."

"So?" he asked grinning.

The truth was that I really wanted a night in with Morelli, but I knew that Ranger would probably be back home this evening, and I kind of wanted to keep an eye on him.

"Actually," I frowned. "Kloughn is out of town on a business thing, and my sister asked if I could come stay the night to help out with the kids." Yeesh! Another lie. I was going straight to hell.

Morelli sighed. "And you agreed? You must be out of your mind. Or…" he paused. "Someone's got baby fever."

Good grief! Baby fever. Preposterous. Ok, maybe I did want a baby in the future. Maybe not the super near future, but I was definitely warming to the idea. And maybe I even wanted that baby with Morelli. Maybe we would all live happily ever after in Morelli's house with Bob the dog and Rex the hamster. Shoot! I'd forgotten all about Bob.

I hopped back in my car. "Why the big hurry?" Morelli asked.

"I need to go check on Bob," I sighed. "Poor thing hasn't been out since this morning. I've been all wrapped up in this Ranger mess." Morelli caught my arm before I shut the door.

"I'll go check on Bob during my lunch break," he offered. "You go ahead and give your statement then you can check things out at the hospital." I gave a relieved smile. Was he a great guy, or what?

"Thanks," I said climbing out of my car and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you." The words just slipped out of my mouth. It wasn't very often that I said it, so it kind of took Morelli by surprise.

"I love you too," he smiled. And on that note of mush, we both walked back into the police station.

Later that day, I was pulling into the parking lot at the hospital. Between my own incidents with work and the occasional mishap with Ranger or Morelli, I'd spent my fair share of time in the hospital. Somehow it didn't make the visits any easier. It still smelled sterile, and I still felt flickers of panic walking into the waiting rooms. Today wouldn't be any different.

I nervously walked up to the desk and asked about Ranger. "Is Carlos Manoso here?" I asked the nurse on duty. She raised an eyebrow. "You mean Mr. Sexy Pain in the Butt?" I bit my lip trying not to laugh.

"That sounds about right," I smiled. She nodded.

"He's just down the hall," she said grabbing a clipboard. "I'll walk you to his room."

Ranger was reclined in a sterile, white bed writing some things down on a small pad of paper when I entered the room. He looked fidgety and irritated. His eyes became a little brighter and there was a small twitch of a smile when he saw me.

"You aren't giving these nurses any trouble are you?" I asked.

"Now why would I do a thing like that?" he replied innocently.

"Because you're impossible."

"So I've been told." We were both silent until the nurse finished checking his vitals. The door clicked as she left, and I leaned down to give him a hug.

"You're looking much less 'rabid dog,'" I said trying to smile. Unfortunately a lump caught in my throat, and I hiccupped back a sob. "Sorry," I said turning around and wiping my eyes furiously. Maybe if I thought of something happy, the urge to cry would subside. Puppies, babies, donuts, birthday cake. Nope, I was definitely going to cry. There was no way to stop it. My whole body started shaking, and Ranger pulled me into the bed next to him, wrapping his arm around me. He kissed the top of my head, and we just sat there for a moment.

Once I had regained some semblance of control, I climbed out of the bed. After all, I didn't want to convey the wrong message. I was obviously just relieved that he was alive. That's all. I wasn't even thinking anything inappropriate. Except maybe about the hospital gown. Those things never look good on anyone…anyone except for Ranger. You almost wanted to hate the guy.

"So Sherlock," he said breaking the growing tension. "What have you got for me?" I shook my head taking a moment to clear my jumbled thoughts.

"It was the butler in the kitchen with the candlestick," I replied with a smile. Ranger stared at me blankly. Apparently the reference to Clue was lost on him. I thought everyone had played that game. Note to self: have Ranger play Clue. "Well, that's kind of true anyway," I said. "It was Ella in your kitchen with your breakfast."

Ranger stared at me in silent contemplation. "You're telling me I was poisoned by _Ella_? You're kidding, right?"

"Sounds ridiculous, I know," I continued. "It wasn't on purpose. Turns out she'd probably been given some contaminated ingredients. Apparently our mystery person knows how you like your food." We were both quiet as we considered just how scary that last statement sounded.

Ranger glanced at the pad and paper. "I'll have Tank run the security camera footage to see if anyone out of the ordinary has been on the fourth floor recently. I ran the footage on the garage again. Still nothing suspicious turned up."

There was a quiet knock on the door, and another nurse walked in with a clipboard. "Your discharge papers, Mr. Manoso," she said handing him the board with a pen.

"Thank God," he muttered. "I was afraid I'd have to fake my death and sneak out of the morgue." I raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds like talk from someone who's done it before."

He shrugged with a twitch of a smile. "I'll never tell."

The nurse started unhooking Ranger from all the medical contraptions then left to give him some privacy to get dressed. He hopped off the bed and shed the hospital gown on the floor.

"Umm…a little warning next time would be nice," I said turning around.

"Babe," he said. "It's not like it's anything you haven't seen before." I was flustered and he knew it.

"It's been a while," I said quietly, feeling a rush of guilt.

"I bet you're blushing right now," he said. I could hear the amusement in his voice. "I love that about you." I could hear the zipper on his pants, so I figured it was safe to turn around again. For someone who had been so close to death earlier today, he was looking pretty darn good. Maybe that's what his tombstone would read someday: "Here lies Ranger: undeniably sexy in life and in death."

The thought of Ranger dead gave me a shiver. We still weren't any closer at figuring out who was behind all of this. There were some leads to follow, but so far all the hot trails we uncovered eventually ran cold. It was a giant chess match, and we were losing pieces left and right. Eventually the game would end, and I was worried that this time we might be on the losing team.

Ranger and I made our way out of the hospital, and I offered to give him a ride home. "Tank can come get me," he said. "You don't have to stick around."

"Well someone has to keep an eye on you to make sure you don't overdo it." Ranger glanced at me looking highly amused.

"Are you offering to play nurse for the evening?"

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean…," I paused. "I figured we could start putting some pieces of this messed up puzzle together. I'd like to get back to my normal life sooner than later."

"Agreed," Ranger said sliding in my passenger door.

We both sat in the car for a moment listening. Something felt strange. I was just about to say something when I heard it: the all-too familiar faint beeping of a timer. My fingers clawed frantically at the door in a desperate attempt to open it. Ranger, who has reflexes like a cat, was already at my door by the time I finally got it open. He pulled me from the car at a full sprint just seconds before it erupted into a giant fireball. Whoosh! The force from the explosion knocked us both to the ground.

"Are you in the triple digits yet?" Ranger asked after a few minutes, rolling onto his back. It was a jab at the number of cars that I'd lost over the years. Unfortunately, considering the circumstances, it wasn't all that funny.

"Ha. Ha," I said getting back up on my feet.

"Where are you going?" Ranger called as I started walking out of the parking lot.

"I don't know about you," I yelled back. "But I'm taking the bus."

"Stephanie," he hollered back. "There are some real whack jobs on the bus." I threw my hands in the air. Considering my current predicament, I was definitely willing to risk it.


	10. Chapter 10

Fortunately, Ranger caught up to me before I reached the bus stop. He had already called Tank, and a Rangeman vehicle was there to pick us up in record time.

"I probably should have stayed with the car to explain everything to the police," I sighed climbing into the black SUV.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure the cops know a Stephanie Plum vehicle when they see one. Look on the bright side: they've probably been through it enough times by now that they probably don't even care how it happened anymore." It was nice to know Ranger was feeling humorous. Too bad I wasn't in a similar mood. I glared at him from the back seat.

My grumpiness only marginally improved by the time we made it back to Rangeman. We were dropped off in the garage, and Ranger decided to pay Ella a quick visit before heading up to the seventh floor. He knocked on her door and waited. I was worried something had happened to her when she didn't answer right away, but eventually her sweet face poked out into the hallway.

"Oh, Ranger!" she cried flinging her arms around him. She was probably the one employee that was allowed such blatant displays of emotional outburst. Unless you counted me, of course. "I'm so glad you're alright!" She eyed me in the hallway and whispered, "Did you tell him?" I nodded.

"That's actually why I stopped by," he said. "Do you mind if I take a quick look around?"

"Of course!" she said waving us both inside. "Just tell me what you're looking for, and I'll look too."

"I wish I knew," Ranger frowned. He asked about the bottle of cayenne, and Ella went and grabbed it from the kitchen.

"For all I know, Louis bought it for me. I've tried calling him to ask about it, but he hasn't gotten back to me yet." She turned her attention to me. "Did you ever hear back about the soup?" Ranger raised an eyebrow my direction.

"Soup?"

"It was made with the contaminated pepper. I didn't have access to your breakfast from this morning. And no, nothing yet, but I can go find out if there's been any updates." I stepped back out into the hallway and dialed Morelli.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey yourself," he answered. "I bet you're calling to tell me the great news that Kloughn came home early, and you're off the hook with your sister, right?" I sighed.

"Not exactly. I was actually calling in a favor. Did you hear back about the soup I left with you earlier?" A pause.

"Yeah, actually," he replied. "Had to pull a few strings and sign my soul over to the devil to get the results back this fast. You should be more careful in the kitchen. It was laced with arsenic." I could feel his voice shifting to a more serious tone.

"That soup was responsible for Ranger's hasty admission to the hospital this morning, wasn't it?"

"It wasn't the soup per se," I answered. "But his breakfast had a similar ingredient. The chef didn't realize the ingredient was poisoned, so we were trying to keep their identity on the down low for now." Silence followed. "Morelli?" I asked. I could tell he was getting upset.

"Stephanie, you aren't withholding evidence from the police, are you?" I considered the accusation.

"Not really… The police took what remained of Ranger's breakfast down to the station this morning. They would have eventually reached the same conclusions. I just needed the results a little faster, that's all."

"Besides the chef, are there any leads on who's responsible?" he asked slipping back into cop mode.

"No. Ranger's apparently got a lot of enemies, so the list of potential suspects is a little on the lengthy side."

"Just as long as _you're_ not getting involved, I don't really care," he said. I didn't know how to respond to that. I wasn't just _getting_ involved. For some reason, I was _already_ involved.

"Stephanie?"

"Yep, don't get involved. Got it."

"You never just agree with me. You're hiding something. How does all of this involve you?" Crap. I'd been caught.

"Can we talk about this later?" I asked getting fidgety.

"No. I want to talk about it now. Otherwise I'll get a call from the station about some catastrophe you've been involved in, and as always, I'll be the last to know. Do you have any idea how humiliating that is?"

"Well I'm sorry your ego can't handle my catastrophes."

I really didn't mean to get all snippy with Morelli, but I was feeling unusually tired and frustrated, and I _really_ hated it when he had a decent point.

"It's not just that," he said growing quiet. "I'm absolutely terrified one of these days I'm going to get the call to head down to the morgue and identify your body. I couldn't do it, Steph. I've seen a lot in my line of work, but I'd completely lose it if yours was the body on the metal table. You're the one thing in my life that can't be replaced, so please, _please_ be careful." And just like that, the call ended.

I felt like I'd been sucker punched in the gut. Normally my sarcastic remarks would have landed us in yet another battle of Jersey tempers, but this time Morelli didn't want the battle. He was worried about me, plain and simple. With all that had been going on, he had good reason to be, didn't he? I stood in the hallway staring at my phone in a daze.

Part of me wanted to call Morelli back and pick a fight so he'd start yelling at me. Just for some normalcy. And the other part of me really wanted to come clean about the last several days. Then I could stop tiptoeing around everything and just get on with life.

For a moment I wondered if I'd gone too far lying about my evening plans to look after Ranger. Probably best to keep that part to myself. Besides, if the visit with Ella didn't bring on any sudden epiphanies, we were still stuck at square one anyway. With any luck, I could wrap everything up here and still have time to head home and spend the evening with Morelli.

A few minutes later, Ranger joined me in the hallway.

"Any news on the soup?" he asked. I nodded.

"Want to guess the poison?" I asked. I bet Ranger would get it in two.

"Arsenic?" he asked.

"Bingo," I confirmed. Got it in one. It made me wonder if this wasn't his first encounter with poison.

Ranger was particularly quiet walking back to the elevator, obviously deep in thought. We dropped the bottle of pepper off on the fifth floor with Tank. Had it been any other working environment, there probably would have been a round of applause for the boss that survived a near-death experience. I guess brushes with death weren't exactly uncommon around here.

Eventually Ranger and I made it up to the seventh floor. It was strange to think that less than twenty-four hours ago Ranger had been sprawled out in his bathroom, poisoned and on death's doorstep. It probably wouldn't have crossed my mind save for the fact that crime scene tape was still strung across his doorway. Ranger tore it all down with a swipe of his hand and unlocked the door. I wondered if he felt as unsettled as I did walking back through that doorway.

"We have the mystery packages, the visit to Morelli's, and the cayenne incident. We don't have prints, we don't have a face, and I have too many possible suspects to even have a decent starting point." His eyes were intense and starting to grow dark. "We _must_ be missing something."

"Don't forget my car," I added. Then it occurred to me that I hadn't told him yet about the dead flowers in the back yard. "And there's something else. It's kind of why I came over here this morning." Ranger stared at me waiting for me to continue.

"There was a vase of dead flowers in my back yard this morning. They smelled like your shower gel."

Ranger shook his head in disgust then paused for a moment. "How did the flowers tip you off about me?"

"I called you to come take a look and the line picked up, but no one answered. I was already freaked out about the flowers, so I kept the call going and decided to drive over here hoping that it was just a bad connection. When I was just moments from the Rangeman garage a voice came on the line asking 'Does the cop know?' It was the same voice that I heard in Morelli's house. I'm assuming the cop is Morelli, but I have no idea what he's supposed to know about?"

Ranger shifted his weight; he was still in thinking mode. "You haven't told him about any of this, have you?" I shook my head.

"I haven't told him _anything_. Why?" I could feel my voice go up an octave. Panic was starting to set in again. What if someone was back at the house waiting for Morelli?

"When did you last talk with him?" Ranger asked. I grabbed my phone from my pocket. "Just a few minutes ago when we were down with Ella. He was at home." My hands were starting to shake as I redialed his number. It rang four times before I heard the line pick up.

"Cupcake?" Morelli answered.

"Hi," I said breathing a sigh of relief.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I wanted to let you know that I'll be home in a little while. I think my sister's got things under control here." Ranger raised an eyebrow my direction and mouthed "Sister?"

"Perfect! I'll order in some dinner. Looking forward to it." Honestly, I was too.

After I ended the call, I turned my attention back to Ranger. "Looks like you're probably all set here. But I can stick around for a while if you still need me," I added hastily. "We can work on the case a little more." Ranger shook his head.

"You didn't tell Morelli about coming over here, did you?" I shook my head.

"He doesn't like it when we work together. I can't imagine he'd be overly thrilled about me coming over to stay the night. He doesn't trust you."

Ranger smiled. "Smart man." He paused. "What if I asked you to stay?" The look in his eyes had changed to something that I was oddly unfamiliar with. It wasn't his usual seductive look that he often used to get me to stay. In fact, if I didn't know any better, it almost looked sad. But Ranger didn't do sad. He barely did anything emotionally related.

Whatever it was, it made me really want to stay. I felt like I needed to make him feel better. Maybe this whole poisoning ordeal was harder to cope with than he thought. I knew from experience that having a brush with death like that could make you do things out of the norm.

I walked over to him to put my hand on his shoulder, but he caught it midair and pulled me into him. His lips were inches from mine for several moments, but once again, no kiss. He just stood there staring at me. "You're really something, babe," he said quietly. He turned away and leaned on the kitchen counter.

The comment seemed unwarranted. I knew for a fact that I probably resembled a mop that got shoved in an electrical socket. Thanks to Ella, I'd had a shower, but my hair and makeup were a mess, and I'm pretty sure I still smelled a little funky from the dumpster. I wasn't sure how to take the "really something" comment.

Of course, I always assumed Ranger thought I was unique and even a little interesting sometimes considering he continued to find reasons for us to work together. But how he really felt about me remained tied up in those emotions that he never shared. It was all a little frustrating.

"I'll call if I find any new leads," he said breaking my train of jumbled thoughts. He glanced back my direction. "Be careful." I took that as my sign to leave, so I walked back to the elevator.


	11. Chapter 11

I'm not going to lie. There have been a number of times that I've fantasized about being with Ranger on a more permanent basis. We've had some really great moments together, and he's fun to work with. We're compatible in a very strange way. It's kind of like oil and vinegar: when you combine the two, sometimes you get a killer salad dressing, but most of the time, they remain separated. And yet over the last few days, Ranger was being even more oily than usual. It was obvious that he was distancing himself from me. And the idea wasn't sitting well. I was still puzzling through everything in the elevator when I had a terrible thought.

I pounded the buttons in the elevator and shot through the doors when they once again opened on the seventh floor.

"Ranger!" I yelled pounding on his door. I heard movement on the other side, and he opened the door looking concerned.

"What?" he asked. "I thought you were leaving. Did something happen?" I walked past him into the apartment.

"No, but I need to get to the bottom of something." I turned and looked at him. "You're sick aren't you?"

He raised an eyebrow at me as if I was crazy. "I got poisoned this morning, but I'm pretty sure you already knew that."

"No, not that. I mean _really_ sick." I paused. "Are you…dying?" Part of me didn't want to know the answer, but the whole thing was driving me crazy.

"What makes you think I'm dying?" he asked cleverly evading the question.

"You've been acting really weird lately. I've seen more emotion from you in the last few days than our entire working career together. What's up with that?" He frowned obviously debating how to answer.

"I was going to wait to tell you."

"Oh no! Wait, I don't know if I want to hear this. I can't handle… Ok," I took a deep breath. "Yeah, I can take it." Another deep breath. "How long do you have?" He shook his head and smiled.

"It's not like that," Then he got serious. "Well, at least not for me anyway. Rachel's sick."

My jaw dropped. Rachel was Ranger's ex-wife who lived in Florida with his daughter, Julie. He had kept their existence a secret until someone tried to take over his identity a few years back. Julie had been kidnapped, and the whole ordeal had ended with Ranger in the hospital. It was probably the only other time I could think of when Ranger had shown an abnormal amount of emotion. It was also right about that time when I realized I had some real feelings for the guy. It was a horrifying realization: I was in love with two men.

"Rachel's sick?" I repeated dumbstruck.

"Yeah," he said running his hand through his hair. "Julie's been calling me a lot lately. She's pretty shaken up. I even went down there for a couple weeks recently. I'm afraid it's not looking good for Rachel." It all sounded so terrible, but I couldn't hide the fact that I was a little relieved. At least Ranger was ok. But then I started putting everything together.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" I asked quietly.

"Once everything's tied up here, and I'm sure you're not in any serious danger, I'll be moving down to Florida to be closer to Julie." He watched me, waiting for my response. I didn't know what to say, so I just stood there.

"For someone who usually has something to say about everything, you're being oddly quiet." I started to open my mouth, but nothing would come out. I didn't know if I should be begging him to stay, asking to go with him, or just walking away. It was utterly absurd to think about Trenton without Ranger.

"Oh," I finally said. I'll admit it was dumb, but I needed more time to think. Probably over donuts, a really big piece of cake, or a bag of Oreos. Maybe all three. I wondered how I managed to miss something so earth-shattering, but it occurred to me that Ranger didn't have many belongings and he mostly kept to himself. It's not like his apartment would have been strewn with moving boxes. And we really hadn't seen much of each other until recently. I felt like a terrible friend.

"You're doing that weird thing where your eyebrow creases and you look like you're thinking too hard about something." I rolled my eyes.

"I just feel bad I didn't know," I said in an exasperated tone. I wanted to start pacing around or go lay down or something. I really needed to process all of this. "How are you holding up?" I finally asked.

"That's a loaded question. I was managing alright until all of this started. Then seeing you…" he trailed off. "It's complicated."

I leaned up against the kitchen counter. "Were you going to leave without telling me?" I asked.

"I thought it might be better. At first. We hadn't talked in a while. You seemed to have things figured out with Morelli. I didn't want to…confuse you." I leaned my elbows on the counter and plopped my face in my hands.

"That's never stopped…I…it's not like…well, I think I'd deserve at least a goodbye." I could feel my emotions starting to get the better of me.

Ranger walked over and pulled me off the counter. "Babe, the problem is goodbye with me would probably turn into something else." He pulled me over to him and kissed me. And I kissed him back. And before I knew what was happening, we were in his bedroom. Clothes were flying, and I was only marginally aware of the growing mass of guilt that was forming in my gut. I had just found my favorite spot on the bed when there was a loud knock on the door.

Ranger's lips were working their way down my body. "Want to ignore it?" he asked between kisses. The knock came again, only this time louder.

"You don't get many visitors. It might be important," I sighed. Ranger crawled off me and pulled some clothes on. I fell back into the bed. _That_ was close. I obviously had zero self-control where Ranger was concerned.

I got dressed and smoothed my hair before making my way out to where Ranger was talking with a Rangeman operative. It was a new face, someone I'd never seen before. Ranger glanced up at me.

"The police have a suspect for the car bombing," he said handing me some papers. "Its makeup was pretty rudimentary, and the guy they have in custody seems more like a drug dealer than the person we've been dealing with." I frowned as I put some of the details together.

"What do you bet he's tied in somehow with Bruno and the Rhino?" I asked. Ranger nodded his agreement then sent the Rangeman guy back downstairs.

"I guess that solves the car stuff, but that still leaves us our other problem." I wasn't sure if he was referring to the person leaving us unwanted gifts or the fact that we'd almost slept together.

"I should probably go," I said heading for the door. Ranger was still looking rather irresistible, and I didn't trust myself to hang around.

"I'll be in touch," he said walking me to the door. There was an awkward moment when we didn't know how to say goodbye. On any other occasion, I'd probably get a kiss, but Ranger kisses were dangerous, so I did a stupid finger wave instead and left.

The drive back to Morelli's was miserable. I was bummed that Ranger was leaving. I was bummed that Rachel was sick. I was bummed another car had been torched. I was bummed there was still a psycho on the loose, and I was really, really bummed that I wasn't still curled up in Ranger's bed next to Ranger. Ugh! What in the world was wrong with me?

Morelli was sleeping on the couch next to Bob when I walked through the door. I didn't blame him; it was late.

"Hey," I said quietly. "You should probably head to bed." He gave me a sleepy smile.

"Only if you're joining me." I didn't feel tired, and I still felt really guilty about my activities earlier that evening, so I shook my head.

"I think I still need to wind down from today. I'll be up in a bit." He seemed a little disappointed, but got up and trudged up the stairs anyway.

I flipped the TV on, but my thoughts kept coming back to Ranger. I was feeling flustered and a little turned on, so I decided to think about the flowers instead. The other packages had been chopped up animal innards. They were disgusting and definitely gave the psycho vibe, but the flowers and the poison had been uniquely personal.

A few people knew about Ranger and my ambiguous relationship. Connie and Lula knew some details, Morelli was always suspicious, and I'm pretty sure some of the guys at Rangeman knew I'd stayed over before, but it was really anyone's guess what was actually going on.

Ranger was always doing things under the radar. The feelings he had or didn't have for me were kept the same way. It was strange that whoever was doing this seemed to know there was something _more_ between us. I could hear the frightening voice ask the question again. _Did the cop know?_ Did Morelli know more than he let on about how Ranger felt about me? I wasn't sure if _I_ even knew how Ranger felt about me.

He had told me before that he loved me…kind of. He'd even mentioned thinking about marrying me at one point, but it was always in that humorous not-to-be-taken-too-seriously kind of way. And it sure didn't seem like he was begging me to come to Florida with him. If anything, it looked like he was ending everything. At least until tonight.

Whoever this was knew personal things about Ranger, which was no easy task considering everything that made up Ranger, the _real_ Ranger, was locked away in an emotional vault with extremely limited access. I wondered exactly how many people made the list with the access code. As I paced around rummaging through my thoughts, I noticed a note on the kitchen table.

"Dinner at your mom and dad's? 6:00?" it said. Great. I'd totally forgotten about the weekly dinners we'd been having with my parents. This week wasn't exactly the best for adding the stress of dining with my family, but maybe it would give me an opportunity to get away from everything and clear my mind.

I turned off the TV and made my way up the stairs. I washed my face and brushed my teeth and crawled into the bed next to Morelli. His arm reached out and pulled me over to him. I let out an enormous sigh. He rubbed my back and kissed my shoulder. "It's going to be ok, Cupcake," he said quietly. A tear slid down my cheek. I really wasn't so sure anymore. But he was warm, and I was beyond tired, so I fell asleep anyway.


	12. Chapter 12

My parents reside in a part of Trenton that the locals have affectionately nicknamed the Burg. Yards are kept up, cars are American, and neighbors are mostly friendly…and nosy. I grew up a few houses down from Morelli's family, and back in the day, he was a mother's worst nightmare for her daughters. Now my mother practically considers him a member of the family and isn't exactly subtle in her expectations of marriage. She doesn't seem to realize that he's not the only one dragging his feet on the matter. Regardless, Morelli is good natured about it all, which is great because my family can be a lot to handle.

Morelli and I pulled up to my parents' house the next evening and were met by an impatient Grandma Mazur at the door. "You've got to get me outta here," she huffed. "I go on one stupid date, and your mother's threatening to ground me." I covered my mouth to hide my smile. "I see that smirk, young lady," she grouched. "You're not fooling anyone."

Here's the thing about Grandma Mazur: I love the woman to pieces. She's fun, hilarious, but overall a bit off. She's kind of like a high school bad boy who never does what she's told and rarely cares what people think. She's sneaky and has an attitude, especially around the women who gather for Bingo night or at the funeral home for a viewing.

She came to live with my parents after Grandpa Mazur went to play the eternal slot machines in the sky. My father always looks like he's one shenanigan away from pushing her down the stairs and making it look like an accident, which means my mother gets the impossible task of playing referee between the two of them while also making sure Grandma doesn't get into too much trouble. Her philosophy keeps things simple: as along as she has dinner on the table promptly by six every evening, my father will be appeased one more day, and the crazy world of Plum will continue turning as usual. A minute late and we're all doomed to hell in a handbasket.

Fortunately we were early for dinner this evening, so we didn't get any dirty looks upon our arrival. I walked with Grandma Mazur back into the house, and Morelli went and sat with my father in the living room to watch some sporting event.

"How was the date?" I asked Grandma. I should have known I was opening a can of worms. My mom popped out of the kitchen with furrowed eyebrows.

"Oh, her date was great. Just great! She sneaks back into the house around midnight. Midnight! I'm thinking there's an intruder, so I come downstairs to investigate only to find her sprawled on the sofa with Mr. Martindale, making out like a couple of irresponsible teenagers!"

Grandma leaned over and whispered, "That man's got some serious tongue skills." She winked at me and I cringed. Gross! My mother returned to the kitchen after a massive eye roll. Apparently the eye rolling is hereditary.

I watched her as she went back into the kitchen and wondered if she'd been sneaking sips of the hard liquor again. It was kind of her way of coping with the bad stuff she had no control over. Usually I was the cause of her occasional drinking habit, or at least my job was, so I was a little relieved that Grandma had taken the spotlight off of me for the time being.

"Will Valerie be joining us tonight?" I asked. Valerie is my older sister who until recently had been the picture-perfect daughter while I was the family screw-up. She had moved to California with her successful husband, had two little girls, and was perfect in every possible way. Then her husband left her to run off with the babysitter, she moved back in with my parents, started a job with a second-rate lawyer, got knocked up, and had kind of a shotgun wedding. Now she has four kids, the second-rate lawyer for a husband, and a small house in the area. Of course, since it's Valerie, she made all of this seem perfectly glamorous and normal. And my mother couldn't be happier with having all the grandkids close by. Still, it made me feel a little better knowing that Valerie's life was far from perfect.

"Not tonight," my mom answered hovering over the stove. I breathed a sigh of relief. When the whole family got together, you were pretty much sitting in another person's lap. Arms bumped together repeatedly, and it usually exceeded every level of chaos you might imagine. That's family for you, right?

I helped Grandma Mazur set the table then waited as the men gradually made their way to the dining room. Morelli came and sat next to me and nudged me with his knee.

"Any date details?" he whispered under his breath.

"Later," I whispered back with a grin.

My father said grace, and then the nightly Plum feeding frenzy followed. Serving spoons clanged while dishes were simultaneously passed. It was lasagna night, so I helped myself to an extra-large portion.

"Feeling a little hungry, Stephanie?" my mother asked. I didn't want to bring up my latest problem that was giving me insane amounts of stress and a sporadic eating schedule, so instead I just smiled. She raised an eyebrow.

"Anything new with the two of you?" she asked. Morelli and I looked at each other and gave a simultaneous "no." Although I could tell my mother wasn't satisfied with the answer, she chose to continue with the polite dinner conversation anyway.

"How's work been, Joseph?" Morelli paused mid bite.

"It had been slowing down a little, but we just had a call this week on a double homicide. It appears gang related. Or maybe drugs. Happened off Stark, so it's anyone's guess really." My family nodded in acknowledgement.

Stark Street was notorious for its low-life inhabitants and less-than-legal activities. I'd had my fair share of problems with skips from Stark, and several of my cars had been lost along its dangerous stretch. It wasn't surprising that the police had been called in for yet another Stark Street shooting.

The dinner eventually started to wind down, and my father returned to the living room to watch his evening sitcoms. He must not have been interested in dessert, but I knew I sure was. My mother had baked one of her infamous chocolate cakes. My mouth began watering the instant she brought it out to the table.

I've tried my hand making a chocolate cake before, and I have to admit, it wasn't a complete disaster like many of my other culinary attempts. In fact, it wasn't half bad. But it didn't hold a candle to my mother's chocolate cake. Her cake was perfection. And it was frequently used as a blackmailing technique to get me to do things I didn't want to do. Anytime the chocolate cake came into play, I knew she was playing dirty. Fortunately tonight's cake came with no strings attached. And it tasted all the better for it.

After his final bite of cake, Morelli leaned back in his chair and sighed contentedly. I stood and helped my mom with the dishes. Grandma Mazur disappeared upstairs with a mischievous grin. I watched her and chuckled. Hopefully she wasn't up to something too terrible. After all, it had been a rather pleasant evening for the Plum household.

I was just dropping a platter off to be rinsed in the sink when my mother grabbed me by the elbow. She looked me over with a very serious expression.

"Stephanie Plum," she said in a forced whisper. "Tell me the truth, are you pregnant?"

"No!" I said ripping my arm from her grasp. "Why would you think that?"

She raised an eyebrow. Suddenly I caught her drift. She was obviously referring to my large appetite.

"How sure are you?" I didn't have time to stop and think it over while she was standing there waiting for an answer.

"One hundred percent," I blurted. I'd do the calculating later.

After the kitchen was cleaned and back to its pristine condition, my mother made up a bag of leftovers, and Morelli and I started to make our departure. We were just about out the door when Grandma Mazur strutted down the stairs.

"What do you think?" she asked.

My mother's mouth fell open, and Joe was biting his lip in an extreme effort not to laugh. Grandma Mazur was dressed in a neon green tube top and a faux leather mini skirt. She had on knee-length boots and a wig that was supposed to make her a brunette. She was dressed like a hooker gone horribly, horribly wrong.

It wouldn't have been so bad except that Grandma's skin was terribly wrinkled and hung off her bones like an elephant that had gone through liposuction. "You like?" she asked while spinning around. "I got me another hot date tonight."

It was a good thing my father was currently distracted by the TV because the sight of Grandma Mazur probably would have given him a heart attack. My mother just stood in stunned silence, so I took charge and grabbed Grandma by the arm.

"I'll go and fix this," I muttered tossing my hand bag at Morelli and guiding Grandma back up the stairs.

We got to her room, and I shut the door. "When did you buy this ridiculous get-up?" I asked pulling a few things from her closet.

"I didn't buy it," she said proudly. "I borrowed it from your friend, Lula." Well, that explained a lot.

"It's not age-appropriate," I said handing her a soft pink sweater.

"Coming from a girl who owns like three dresses? Psh!" She held up the sweater and frowned. "Honey, I need something that shouts 'Take me!' not 'Past the expiration date.' Mr. Martindale is a hot commodity. I had to make up some pretty wild stories about some of the other ladies just to get on his potential date list."

I frowned. "Mr. Martindale should be impressed by who you are, not by what you look like." Grandma Mazur shrugged.

"Men at my age aren't interested in the long-term anymore, sweetie. If you want one to stick around for a decent amount of time, you've got to be willing to put out a little." I did a small heebie-jeebies dance to try and get the mental image out of my head. Thinking about little old ladies putting out was just plain gross.

After a little more coaxing, Grandma finally agreed on the pink sweater, but in compromise, she kept the black skirt. She removed the wig, and we found a more comfortable pair of shoes that weren't as likely to have her falling and breaking her neck. Overall, I considered the wardrobe change a success.

We went back downstairs. I could tell my mom still wasn't happy. She did an eye roll and went back in the kitchen. Since the dishes were already done, I assumed it was to sneak a drink.

Personally I thought Grandma looked kind of cute. Her legs were a little scary, but the pink really brought out her eyes…and her sass. At least she always had a winning personality going for her.

Mr. Martindale swung by just as Morelli and I were getting into the car. I wished the two a fun evening then slid into the passenger seat. Grandma Mazur swung her hips around as she walked over to Mr. Martindale's car. I think his eyes nearly popped out of his head. It was going to be a fun night for Grandma Mazur.

"Your grandmother is something else," Morelli said shaking his head as we pulled away from the house.

"I think she just refuses to be old," I smiled. It was good to know that life could still be fun regardless of your age.

"That reminds me, your phone was going off inside when you were up helping your grandma change," he said. "You may want to take a look." I pulled my cell phone out of my shoulder bag and glanced at the missed call. It was from Ranger. I wondered if I should call him back. Maybe it wasn't safe for us to return to the house.

"It's Ranger," I said trying to play it cool. Morelli's jaw clenched.

"Why does he suddenly want to call you all the time?" he asked. I tried to think of a good reason that didn't involve tons of danger or have romantic undertones, but I was drawing a blank, which probably meant I was taking too long to answer.

"I've kind of been helping out on a case of his," I said. Morelli glanced over at me. He didn't look happy. "If it makes you feel any better, I think this might be the last one."

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to say anything about Ranger's moving plans, but at the moment, I didn't really care. Regardless, Morelli seemed unfazed by the response. He probably assumed that with me there would always be one more case.

"I probably should call him back," I said finally. I dialed Ranger's number and waited.

"Babe," he said.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I did some investigating today. Stopped by Morelli's and checked with some of the neighbors to see if they saw anything suspicious over the last few days. Turns out one of the neighbors had seen someone in the backyard the other morning but couldn't really give a description because the person had been dressed all in black." I got a sudden chill. Ranger paused.

"And?" I asked impatiently.

"There was a print that I lifted from the vase of flowers."

"That's a good thing, right?"

"Not exactly. The print on the vase belongs to me."

I took a moment to consider what that meant.

"Babe, I think someone's trying to set me up again. They're laying the groundwork at least, and I don't like the direction this is going. We might want to revisit the safe house plan again." I looked over at Morelli who was obviously eavesdropping.

"I can't do that," I said quietly. "Not unless I absolutely have to." There was silence on the other end. "Ranger?"

"Sorry, just thinking. You still have the watch, right?" I nodded.

"Yeah."

"Good. Make sure you're wearing it. Maybe we'll get lucky and this guy will make a mistake." I couldn't help but notice the lack of confidence in his last statement.

"Ok," I said. "I guess I'll talk to you later." The phone call ended just as we were pulling into Morelli's driveway.

"Any updates on the case?" Morelli asked. I heaved a sigh.

"Not any good ones." We walked through the door, and I went to let Bob out of the bathroom. He had eaten the entire roll of toilet paper…again.

"Morelli," I called down the stairs. "Bob probably needs to go out ASAP. He just ate an enormous amount of fibrous material."

"Roger that," he called back. I heard the back door open and close.

I was picking up the few scattered toilet paper remnants that Bob had left when I suddenly remembered my mother's interrogation back at the house. I did some quick mental math, glanced in the drawer with my girlie stuff, and realized that not only was it a possibility that I could be pregnant, but the probability was much higher than was probably safe to admit.

I stood staring at the mirror trying to decide if the face looking back at me had motherhood potential. Although my hair was fixed and concealer hid the circles under my eyes and the faint bruise on my forehead, I still couldn't visualize myself holding a baby in my arms. I leaned in closer hoping I'd suddenly morph into my sister Valerie, but nothing changed. Stephanie the screw-up was still staring back at me.

Morelli snuck up behind me and leaned in. "You can hardly even notice the zit," he said. I whipped around.

"I don't have a zit," I scowled then turned back to the mirror. "I was just… I'm not really sure I'm good at taking care of things." Morelli looked at me with a confused expression.

"We manage to eat two or three meals a day, and so far I haven't heard complaints from Bob or Rex. Did your mom say something to you tonight?" I shook my head still staring into the mirror.

"No. Well, not really. I was just, you know, thinking about the future."

Morelli stood for a moment then suddenly seemed to catch my mental wavelength. He turned me around and smiled at me.

"Stephanie," he said warmly. "When you're ready, I think you'll be a great mother." I bit my lip trying not to cry. Stupid hormones.

He leaned down and kissed me. It started out sweet, but before I knew what was going on, half my clothes were gone, and Morelli was tugging my arm toward the bedroom.

"Until you're ready," he said seductively, "I think we should take every opportunity to practice." I wasn't ready to tell him that I was pretty sure the practice sessions were over.

Something pulled me from my sleep the next morning. It was still dark, and I was pretty sure Morelli's alarm hadn't gone off yet. I tried covering my head with my pillow in an effort to fall back asleep, but it was no use. Something was nagging me to get up.

I glanced at the clock. 4:30 AM. Given that I was the epitome of an anti-morning person, this week had already been kicking my butt. I stumbled down the stairs and flipped some lights on. Bob was eager for an early morning potty stop, so I let him outside. Fortunately there weren't any new flower deliveries. I made my way into the kitchen and started some coffee.

I glanced at my phone. No new messages or missed calls. I checked my email and deleted all the ads for enhanced male and female body parts. Why is it that I always seemed to get more junk mail than actual messages from people I knew? Then I remembered that I hadn't heard any updates from Morelli on the phone hacking stuff. I sat and watched the morning news until I heard him stumble down the stairs in his usual groggy morning haze.

"Hey," I smiled taking a sip of coffee.

"You're up early," he said. "Couldn't sleep again?"

"It's been one of those weeks. I haven't been up for too long though. When you've got a moment I've got a question for you. Did you ever find anything out about the phone hacking stuff?" He rubbed his forehead.

"Hang on a sec. I think I need coffee first." He poured himself a cup and came and sat on the couch next to me.

"We have a guy that works in the crime tech lab. Rumor has it that he graduated from MIT. I only had a brief moment to chat with him, but he confirmed the potential for someone to hack your phone. It's called cloning. I can give you his contact info if you want more details." I nodded.

"Thanks. I think it might be what we need to finally crack this case." Morelli finished his coffee and got up from the couch.

"Do I want to know how dangerous this case is?" he asked.

"It's not murder-related if that's what you're asking." Well, unless you consider poison a potential form of murder…

"Just be careful. Please," he sighed as he went back upstairs to shower.


	13. Chapter 13

After Morelli left for work, I created a mental to-do list for my day. I needed to swing by the bail bonds office and check out the skip situation. I also needed to get in touch with the MIT guy and see if it was possible to hack a hacker. And I _really_ needed to swing by the store and pick up a pregnancy test. Maybe not necessarily in that order, especially since my transportation was currently limited.

I threw my hair in a quick ponytail, pulled on a clean t-shirt and jeans, and laced up my favorite athletic shoes. Just as I was debating about who to bum a ride from, there was a knock at my door. It was Morelli's next door neighbor.

"Hi dear," she said. "I made an extra loaf of banana bread this morning. I was wondering if you'd like it." I took the loaf of bread from her and smiled. It was nice to have good neighbors. Especially ones who liked to bake.

"Thanks," I said. "Smells delicious." She turned to leave then stopped.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You had a note taped to your door. Here." She handed me a folded piece of paper. After closing the door, I opened the note.

"Do _you_ know?" it said. It was typed, so there was no point in doing a handwriting analysis, but I wondered if there could be any prints. Naturally my next step was to call Ranger.

"Hey, I think I just got a note on my door from our mystery admirer. It's typed, but there might be prints. I'll drop it by later today."

"Ok."

"Oh, and I might have a lead on the mysterious phone call stuff from the morning you were poisoned. I need to make a call first, but I'll let you know what I find out."

"Got it," he said.

"Um, and one more thing. As you might remember I don't have a car. Could I get a ride?"

"Babe." And the phone call ended. Hopefully that meant yes.

After about an hour, Ranger pulled up to the house in his black Porsche 911 Turbo. I made sure Bob was locked in the bathroom, toilet paper removed, and gave Rex his morning cracker and grape. I double checked that the front and back doors were locked and went and hopped in the car.

"Thanks for the ride," I said still feeling a little awkward about our last encounter. Ranger nodded but didn't say anything. Obviously he wasn't interested in talking about it. I wondered if everything felt as weird to him as it did to me. Maybe if I brought it up, his facial expression would change or something, and I'd catch a glimpse of what he might be thinking. Unfortunately, I knew it would be a pointless exercise. Ranger was back to being the locked down vault of emotions.

I surreptitiously glanced over while we were driving. Ranger was in client clothes today, but he also had the stubbly beginning of a beard, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

"Have a rough night?" I asked.

"I'm fine. I take it you're headed to the bonds office," he said.

"If it's not too much trouble." He looked over at me with what I assumed was the Ranger equivalent of an eye roll. Apparently Ranger thought I was _always_ too much trouble.

"Where's the note?" he asked after another few moments of silence. I handed him the sheet of paper.

"Interesting."

"Yeah," I frowned. "Apparently I know or _should_ know something, but I'm totally drawing a blank."

Ranger stared at me. "Babe." No idea what that meant. Finally we pulled up to the office, and I hopped out.

"I have a meeting with a client out of town today," he said. "You'll have to call Tank if you need a ride home." I nodded.

"Thanks, but I'll see if Lula can drop me off." He did a nod in acknowledgement and left. No hint of a smile, no kiss, no nothing. No-emotion Ranger was totally frustrating.

"Was that Ranger's fancy ride?" Connie asked when I walked through the bonds office door.

"Yeah. I kind of lost another car." I frowned. "Is Lula in today?" Connie glanced up at the clock.

"She left to make a donut run, but that was a good forty-five minutes ago. I guess she got sidetracked by something." Great. Hopefully she'd be back later.

"Any new files for me today?" I asked. Connie thumbed through some things in a drawer.

"We have an indecent exposure, a woman caught on numerous accounts of shoplifting, and a grand theft auto." The grand theft auto file was probably worth the most, but was probably the most dangerous, so I decided to put it on the back burner for now.

"I'll take the shoplifter and the grand theft auto," I said. Connie handed me the files, and I thumbed through their contents.

The shoplifter was Marsha McKinney who was in her early forties. She had bleach-blond hair and was a little heavy-set, but her smile was sweet. She'd been picked up for shoplifting shoes, and based on the report, she probably had enough stolen merchandise to fill half of Ranger's walk-in closet. If I was being totally honest, I was a little jealous.

I took a seat on the couch and waited for Lula to return. An hour later, a rather large black woman walked through the door. She was probably around five feet tall and wore large red wedges to compensate. Her clothing was bright, but nothing too over-the-top, and she had a pleasant smile that was brightened with a deep red lipstick. The shade matched her shoes.

"Oh! You must be Stephanie!" she exclaimed running over to me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, and you are?" Lula suddenly barged through the door.

"Tiny!" she hollered. "Quit getting up in everyone's business. Besides you and me ain't done talking. Get back out here so we can finish this like civilized people." Tiny turned around and gave Lula a death glare.

"I don't have anything further to say to you," she spat. "You're too stubborn and stupid to hear what I'm telling you anyway." I could see the smoke coming from Lula's ears.

"Oh no you didn't!" she screamed as she lunged toward Tiny.

I dove for Connie's desk as the two women erupted in a terrible cat fight. Connie and I sunk behind her desk.

"Is this the first time Tiny's been in the office?" I asked. Connie shook her head.

"Came by yesterday too. She was giving Lula a lecture on her clothing choices." I widened my eyes. "Yep, pretty much the same showdown yesterday."

Suddenly Vinnie burst out of his office. "What the hell is going on out here?" he shouted. Tiny and Lula were both sprawled on the floor. They stopped the fight and directed their attention toward Vinnie.

"You," he said pointing to Lula. "One more scene from you and you're fired! I'm not even sure what we pay you to do around here anyway." Lula stood up and brushed herself off.

"Listen here, Vinnie. I don't take no crap from no one. Especially not a weasely guy like you. Best not threaten me or I'll tell your little wifey about all your unscrupulous activities." Vinnie shot her a look like a viper ready to strike but eventually lost his nerve and returned to his office.

"Thanks a lot, Tiny," Lula muttered. "First you mess up my house and now you're going and messing up my job. You are such a pain in the ass!" Tiny straightened her outfit.

"Well at least I have enough respect for myself not to go dressin' like no hooker." Lula started toward her again, but Tiny squealed and ran out the door.

"I'm taking the bus home!" she hollered as she left.

"Good riddance," Lula muttered. She looked over at me. "That was Tiny," she said as if I needed an explanation.

"I gathered that."

"I really hate that girl sometimes. She really knows how to get under my skin." I thought about Valerie. It must have been a sister thing.

"You mind letting me bum a ride today?" I asked. Lula smiled.

"Sure, girl. What's wrong? Lose another car in a fiery inferno?"

"Something like that," I frowned.

"Shit, I was just being funny. I thought it was probably in the shop or something." I shook my head.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later. I've had that car longer than most." Lula nodded in agreement.

"Where to?"

"I figured we'd go pick up Marsha McKinney. She was brought in for shoplifting some high-end shoes." Lula grabbed the file.

"Okey dokey. But I really need something to eat first. That stuff with Tiny's got me all worked up again."


	14. Chapter 14

We picked up a dozen donuts and made our way over to Marsha's house. She lived in a quaint little neighborhood that seemed a little too uppity for a shoplifter. Then again, she _was_ shoplifting shoes. Maybe it was a quirky habit she couldn't kick.

I knocked on her door with Lula in tow. "Marsha?" I called. "Is anyone home?" I heard a commotion inside before the door opened.

"Yes?" answered a woman resembling Marsha's picture from the file. "Can I help you?"

"You missed your court date. I'm going to have to bring you in to get bonded out again." I decided the direct approach was probably the best approach.

Marsha stepped outside the door and immediately started walking past me and Lula. Well that was easy. I thought she was heading over to the car with us, but at the last minute, she turned and bolted down the street.

"Wait!" I called chasing after her at a full sprint. "It…will…only take…a minute," I panted. Lula was already several paces behind me, and Marsha was faster than she looked. She jumped over a neighbor's fence, and before I knew it, she was long gone.

"Crap!" I yelled to no one in particular.

Lula finally caught up with me, heaving like an overworked mule. "Well that was invigorating," she panted.

"I must be losing my touch," I sighed. "I really didn't see that coming." Lula smiled.

"You're not sayin' we're getting too old for this, are you?" I honestly didn't know anymore. Maybe it _was_ time to start seriously looking at other employment.

We made our way back to the car, and Lula and I established our game plan for taking down Mr. Grand Theft Auto after lunch. I decided it was time to bring my "A" game. No more slip-ups for me. Someone was going to get me my body receipt today, and I was in no mood for indecent exposure.

As we drove, I debated about asking Lula to drop me off at a drug store. But I was worried she'd start asking questions. No offense to Lula, but if she figured out the whole potential pregnancy bit, there was a good chance all of Trenton would know before I even had a chance to pee on the stick. Morelli would probably have a stroke when his police chief stopped by to congratulate him. Not exactly how I wanted to break the news.

Lula was eyeing me suspiciously as I muttered things to myself.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Not really," I sighed. "You ever feel like the whole world is just crashing down around you?" Lula grinned.

"Hell yes! All the time. I especially feel that way every morning I wake up and Tiny is still sleeping on my couch. Got any good ideas on how to get rid of her?" I shook my head.

"Oh that's right! You were gonna ask Officer Hottie if he had any single friends, remember?" I frowned.

"Sorry. I kind of forgot. It's been one of those weeks." Lula shrugged.

"Maybe I'll swing by Rangeman and pick out some beefcake there," she said. I gave her a look.

"I don't think Ranger would appreciate that."

"I'll think of a cover. I'll just say I'm gonna go talk with Tank or something. I got some stealthy ways, ya know?" I smiled. To pair Lula with stealthy was a bit oxymoronic. Between her attitude and her clothing choices, she was about as noticeable as they came.

"Do you even know why Tiny's in town?" I asked trying to change the subject. Lula shrugged.

"To be honest, no. I guess I forgot to ask her. I thought she was just droppin' by to say 'hi' and all, but she's been sayin' 'hi' all week. While also becoming a growing pain in my backside."

This made me think of Val when she moved back home with my parents. She just kind of showed up with the girls. It seemed like a casual visit at first, but eventually we got the whole story. Val ended up staying in Jersey permanently.

"You may want to talk with Tiny about why she's here. It could be something more than just paying you a visit. She might really need some family support right now." Lula frowned.

"I'm gonna need me some full stomach support before I can even think about doing that. How do ya feel about some lunch?" To be honest, I was feeling a little queasy, and I was really hoping it was the placebo effect and not actual morning sickness. But I'll be darned if I was going to give myself away that easily.

"Lunch sounds great," I lied. Hopefully we wouldn't go anywhere with pickles. The dill and the vinegar smells were making my stomach churn just thinking about them. Maybe I could pretend it was the flu. Yeah right…

A half-eaten burger later (minus the pickles), and I was ready to pay a visit to Mr. Grand Theft Auto. Adrian Simmons, nicknamed Shorty according to his file, lived in a really crappy part of town. I had already done a mental count of five drug dealers on the street corners by the time we pulled up to the apartment complex he was supposedly staying in. It looked like an urban haunted house.

"I'm not so sure about this," I frowned over at Lula. "It's already been a crummy day. Maybe we should quit while we're still standing." Lula looked at me.

"That doesn't sound like the Stephanie Plum I know. Where's the girl who doesn't give up no matter how difficult the situation? Are you really telling me you don't want to at least _try_ to bring in Shorty Simmons?" I shrugged.

"I'm just thinking today might not be a good day for it, that's all." I might also have been thinking that I might be carrying some precious cargo that probably wouldn't be thrilled about a huge surge of adrenaline if things went south. Which they usually were prone to do.

"And you're sure you're feeling ok?" Lula asked.

"Actually, would you mind swinging by a pharmacy? I might need to restock my medicine supply." And surreptitiously pick up a pregnancy test…

"Sure girl. Are we calling it a day then?" I nodded.

"Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow." Or in nine months…

Lula and I stopped by the nearest drugstore on our way back to the bonds office. I walked toward the medicine isle but suddenly realized I had a really big problem. If I bought a pregnancy test anywhere within a fifty mile radius, there was a very high probability that someone who knew my mom or grandma would see me. They knew _everybody_.

I grabbed a box of nasal decongestant and some pain killers and snuck a glance at the lady at the cash register. She didn't look familiar, but of course that didn't mean much. Plus there was still Lula to worry about. She had headed over to scope out the snack selection, so I had maybe a few more minutes before she met up with me again to check out.

I breathed out a sigh. Did this really have to be so complicated? Obviously it did. All because I didn't want anyone to know about it. Ok, so I kind of wanted Morelli to know, but I was still hazy on the details of how I wanted to tell him. Over a romantic dinner sounded kind of nice. Except I was kind of getting ahead of myself. I still needed to take the actual test.

My options were kind of limited given the circumstances, and I really, really, _really_ wanted to know the test results, so I casually made my way down the feminine products isle and glanced around. So far there weren't any signs of someone watching me. I brushed up against the shelf and tried to make it look like an accident while sneakily knocking a pregnancy test into my handbag. And just like that, I became a shoplifter.

"Watcha doin' down this isle?" Lula asked making me jump a mile in the air. I put my hand over my chest.

"Geez!" I said. "Don't sneak up on my like that. I could've had a heart attack." Lula eyed me suspiciously. "What?" I asked still feeling flustered. "I thought I could use some backup tampons, but I think I'm good. I'll just wait until I do my regular shopping. Besides, the prices here are terrible."

"Uh huh," Lula said obviously not buying it. "Well, I'm ready to go when you are. They didn't have the chips I wanted. Got me some Tastykakes though." We went through the checkout, and I just about had heart failure when the lady at the register asked me if I found everything I was looking for. I nodded and hoped on all that's decent in the world that I didn't have "guilty" written all over my face.

"You looked kinda shifty in there," Lula said as we got back into her car.

"It's probably my stress levels," I sort of lied. "They've been a little high these days. And I haven't been feeling all that great today. I've probably got a cold coming on or something." I did a stupid fake cough to make the lie more believable. Lula looked over at me, suddenly serious.

"You'd tell me if there was something going on that I should know about, right? After all, you are like my best friend. I should be in the know, ya know?" I had already been feeling pretty bad about shoplifting a pregnancy test, and now I was starting to feel even worse about keeping everything from Lula. This whole lies and deception business wasn't really my game.

"Yeah," I said. "I'll be sure to tell you the minute anything big-news worthy shows up on my radar." Babies are kinda small news, right? At least they come in smallish sizes. And considering I've had my fair share of nutzos after me, it wasn't really big news that I had someone leaving me scary packages. So really I could almost be guilt-free about the lying stuff. My screwy logic was definitely working its magic today.


	15. Chapter 15

We pulled back in front of the bonds office next to a shiny, black vehicle. It looked like a Rangeman fleet car, which probably meant it was a peace offering from Ranger. I decided to send him a message.

"Is the car for me?" I texted as we walked inside. Connie was sitting at her desk looking a little bored.

"No luck on the shoe thief or the car hijacker?" she asked.

"One gave us the slip and the other lived in a scary part of town. We decided we probably needed a few more tools in our arsenal before confronting him." I felt my phone buzz.

"Yours 'til it succumbs to the fate of being your car. Be safe." Ranger had a strange sense of humor. Somehow it worked for him. It was like the 'babe' catchphrase. The man could say so much with so little.

"I think I'm going to call it a day. Got a few errands to run. I'll see you both tomorrow." Lula and Connie waved, and I headed back out to the parking lot. I climbed into the new car and looked at my phone. It was still early in the afternoon. My down-to-business side told me I should probably give the MIT guy a call. We still had a long way to go in finding our deranged weirdo. But the hormonal potential-mommy side of me wanted to go pee on a stick like yesterday. My brain wasn't capable of functioning properly until I got that out of the way.

Ranger was probably still out of town with clients, so that meant his apartment would be completely vacant for me to have a nervous breakdown in if the pregnancy test came back positive. I could even take a shower with the therapeutic Bulgari shower gel if absolutely necessary. It sounded like a win-win-win situation.

I pulled up to the Rangeman building twenty minutes later and waved to the security cameras. The garage was mostly empty with everyone out doing their rounds, so I had my pick of parking spaces. I decided if anyone approached me, my cover would be delivering important case-related material in the form of the nondescript folder I had for Marsha McKinney. If Ranger was there, I was kind of screwed. My fibs never seemed to work on him. Plus, I really didn't have case-related anything. I was just going to walk in with the folder and hope no one noticed.

Thankfully the elevator was void of activity, so I went straight to the seventh floor without a problem. I grabbed my key and took a deep breath. The chances that Ranger was at Rangeman were pretty slim, especially since he'd told me earlier that he would be gone for the day. Even if he was in the building, there was an even smaller chance that he would be in his apartment. I unlocked the door and walked in.

I felt startled at first because the apartment seemed even more vacant than usual. Ella hadn't brought by fresh flowers and several pieces of furniture were missing. I wondered if Ranger had started moving his belongings to Florida. The thought made me sad and a little nostalgic. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to sit and wallow. I was on a mission.

I sighed walking into the bathroom and admired the fancy shower. Even if I didn't need Bulgari therapy, the shower might still be a good idea. Especially since I'd probably never get to use it again.

With shaking hands, I pulled the shoplifted test from my bag and pulled out the instructions. It was pretty straightforward: you pee on the stick and wait. Feeling a little anxious, I decided I might not have enough pee at the moment to get an accurate reading, so I went back out to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water.

I walked through the apartment wistfully while playing mental reruns of the Best of Stephanie and Ranger. A tear slid down my cheek. I brushed it away and decided I was being dumb. It was probably the hormones again.

I took a deep breath; I was finally ready to venture back to the bathroom. After doing my business, I was washing my hands and noticed a very subtle change in the air pressure. My heart stopped then took a rapid nose-dive.

I stood frozen at the sink until I heard the bathroom door handle turn. I fumbled with the pee-soaked stick frantically trying to get it back in my handbag. Why didn't I think to lock the door? Granted, locks never stopped Ranger anyway, but at least it would have given me a few extra seconds to organize some thoughts.

Ranger walked in wearing a partially unbuttoned dress shirt, his tie draped over his shoulders. His hand was hovering above his gun on his hip until his eyes settled on me. His posture relaxed, but his stare was still dark and focused my direction.

"Hi," I finally said. "How are your clients doing these days?" He stayed silent and walked out of the bathroom. Maybe he thought an interrogation in the bathroom was rude. I followed him back out to the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. I leaned up against the counter. My lies were kind of limited. I really should have called the MIT guy before coming over. At least then I'd have _something_ to report. There was always the truth, but things were already awkward enough between the two of us. I didn't need working together to get any weirder.

"I don't know," I frowned. "I guess I needed a moment to feel safe, so I followed my spidey sense and ended up back here."

Ranger nodded. "Anything happen today?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary." Except I might be sitting on incriminating evidence of shoplifting and a potential pregnancy. Ranger was still staring at me. I wondered if he was doing his mind-reading thing.

"Well Jedi master, I should go. Those mind tricks won't be working on me today." I semi-smiled.

"You're not telling me something."

"So? It's not case-related. It's more…personal."

"But it's obviously something important. You wouldn't be hiding out here if it wasn't."

"I'm _not_ hiding out. Geez! Can't a girl get a few moments to herself at a friend's place?" It sounded even more stupid when I said it out loud. I should've just gone back to Morelli's.

"I'm sorry I broke in…again," I said feeling exasperated. "I'll try to stay out of your hair. I know how very sacred your privacy is." And with that I turned to storm out the door. Ranger caught my arm. His eyes were serious yet unusually soft.

"Babe, I gave you that key for a reason. Come back any time you need to feel safe." He leaned in and kissed my forehead. I walked in a daze out the door.


	16. Chapter 16

I rode the elevator back down to the garage. My temper was threatening to unleash Plum fury, and I had absolutely no idea why. Did I even have a reason to be mad? The anger stuff was probably just a mask for all the other emotions I was trying not to feel. I was completely dumbfounded by Ranger's display of friendship and also intensely overwhelmed by the sadness at the possibility of losing him. I felt worried and frustrated and a deep-centered fear. I was scared of the blue-eyed face in the black mask, but more than that, I was absolutely terrified of the future.

Even though my life had always been a roller coaster of ups and downs, chaos and normalcy, it was that fluid movement that had somehow become my constant. I had relied on the break-ups and make-ups with Morelli as a normal part of my life. Now that we were apparently on to something else, something probably better, I was struggling to adapt.

I had also been relying on Ranger's rescues to bring a strange sense of order to my life. There were moments when our relationship was something beyond Damsel-in-Distress, but neither of us ever took the time to define it. Now that he was leaving, I was drowning in all the layers of the relationship I hadn't even realized existed. It was a real mess.

I needed a distraction, so I dialed the number for the MIT guy at the police station.

"Riggins," he answered on the second ring.

"Hi," I said startled by the quick response. "This is, um, Stephanie Plum. Joe Morelli gave me your number to help with a problem I'm having. I need to know the details on phone cloning."

There was a beat of silence, and I heard some papers shuffling in the background.

"Sorry," I offered. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"There isn't exactly a great time for non-case related stuff around here, but go for it. I'm due for a break here anyway."

"Well for starters, how does it work? I have a friend who I called a couple days ago. Someone else answered, but I'm pretty sure the phone was still in my friend's possession."

"It's a little involved, but basically there's software that can change a phone's electronic serial number, which is kind of like it's ID. If the serial number is modified along with the phone's preferred roaming list, suddenly you have another phone that has access to the original phone's data. There's a lot more technical mumbo jumbo behind it, but yeah, in short you can hack someone's phone fairly easily. Especially with the right software and equipment." He paused. "Of course the U.S. has laws against it, but I have a feeling someone using the software probably doesn't mind operating outside of the law."

"Is it possible to use some kind of triangulation strategy to figure out the location of a hacker like that?" I asked.

"Well, kind of. Every cell phone has a fingerprint of sorts in its transmission signal. It's unique to that device, so with a little legwork the phone companies can find the cloned phones using the discrepancies between the serial numbers and the fingerprint. It's kind of a pain in the butt though. And you'd probably need some type of warrant. Want me to see what I can do? I'll need the number of the phone that was hacked for starters." I was pretty sure Ranger wouldn't want me giving out his cell number, so I decided to turn down the offer.

"Thanks, but I think I can handle it from here. I'll let you know if I need any further technical advice. You've been a big help." I disconnected as I pulled in front of Morelli's house. He wasn't home yet.

I debated calling Ranger with the updates, but the news about the phone hacking made me think talking on the phone probably wasn't all that safe anymore. It made me wonder if my phone could have been hacked too. We needed a new form of communication. Just as I was pondering how real Ranger's mind-reading abilities were, my phone started ringing. It was Morelli.

"Hey Cupcake. How's your day going?"

"It's going," I answered. "How about you?"

"It hasn't been my worst day on the job. Wanna grab a quick dinner out? I'm thinking it's going to be a late night for me."

"Sure. What did you have in mind?"

"Greasy pizza sounds pretty good. Does anything sound better to you?" I was actually more in the mood to eat an entire birthday cake on my own, but pizza with Morelli came in a close second.

"Nope. Pizza it is. What time do you want to meet up?" I asked.

"Let's shoot for 6:30. I'll call if I'm running behind schedule. And Cupcake," he paused. "I'm really looking forward to seeing you. You always seem to brighten my day." That last bit made me smile. I was looking forward to seeing him too. Maybe we could even chat a little more about the future, and…

Oh my gosh! I'd totally forgotten about the pregnancy test! I grabbed my bag off the passenger seat and frantically started rummaging through it. After a few minutes of searching I was starting to feel a wave of nausea and panic. Maybe it got wedged in one of the corners or stuck in a pocket. I dumped the entire contents of the bag on the seat. Wallet, lip gloss, hair brush, emergency tampon, handcuffs, hairspray, stun gun…no pregnancy test. Damn!

I'd had to slam on my breaks a few times on the drive back to the house, so maybe it had fallen out of my bag? I moved the floor mat and checked under the seat. It was a Rangeman vehicle so of course all I found was an extra gun. No pregnancy test. Of course, I was just going by feel. I really needed a flashlight to do a thorough search. The Rangeman vehicle probably had one somewhere, but I was in such a frantic state that I wasn't thinking clearly.

I raced into the house and started rummaging around for a flashlight. Bob was whining to go out, so I opened the back door. He raced outside, and I poked my head out back to make sure there wasn't any suspicious activity. Everything looked normal, so I went back inside leaving the door open.

Normally Rex would have poked his head out of his soup can to greet me, but he must have been extra tired because there wasn't any movement from his aquarium. I went and grabbed a cracker from the kitchen and brought it back for him.

"Here you go lazy bones," I said tossing it in the cage. Rex slowly made his way out and sniffed at the cracker. Apparently it wasn't quite up to his culinary standards because he went back to the soup can without taking a single nibble. "Well, aren't we snooty today?" I said heading back to the kitchen. There was a box from the Tasty Pastry sitting on the counter.

"Wow," I said. "Morelli must have dropped these off earlier. That guy's on a role." I broke a piece off one of the donuts and brought it over to Rex's cage. "Have a sweet tooth today, Rex?" I asked tossing the donut bite in. Rex came out and started nibbling away. "Ha, I thought so. We're two peas in a pod, you and me. Once I find that stupid pregnancy test, I'll celebrate with a donut too."

I ran through the house out into the garage and finally managed to find a flashlight. Racing back to the car, I slid the seat back as far as possible and used the flashlight to illuminate the dark corners. There was no sign of the test. That could mean only one thing: the pregnancy test was still somewhere at Rangeman. And more probable than that, it was probably still in Ranger's apartment. Ugh!

I could feel myself starting to lose it. My heart was pounding in my ears and my shirt was suddenly too tight and I couldn't breathe. Slowly, I crumpled into a sitting position and tried to focus on my breathing. "It could be worse," I told myself trying to clear the black dots that were swimming in my vision. "I could have taken the pregnancy test at my parent's house. Then half the Burg would know the results by now. Ranger was a good and decent kind of guy. He could keep a secret, couldn't he?"

Suddenly I had a terrible vision of a meeting at Rangeman where Tank, Hal, Lester and all the others were gathered around Ranger. Ranger held up the test and everyone burst into uproarious laughter. Ugh! It was like being in junior high all over again. I could feel that same knot growing in my stomach and a sudden urge to punch every single one of those guys in the nose. Then I remembered none of it was real. They wouldn't be laughing like that anyway. I was such a mess!

Someone walked by me on the sidewalk. "You ok, lady?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. I just hit my head on the door frame looking for something. I'm fine. Really." The man shook his head and muttered something about drugs. On that note, I decided I really needed one of those donuts from the kitchen.

Bob was waiting for me at the back door, so I let him back in then walked over to the box of donuts. I picked out a chocolate donut with sprinkles and looked over at Rex's cage.

"How was your donut?" I asked. Rex didn't move. "Rex?" I asked taking a closer look into his aquarium. His little hamster body was rigid and his beady little eyes were glazed over. "Rex!" I screamed pulling him out of the cage. I set him on the table in a frantic panic, but I couldn't think what to do next. Should I do Hamster CPR? Had he overdosed on sugar? Did he choke? Did I need to do the Heimlich? Would I further damage him from trying to do any or all of this?

Tears were flooding my eyes. "Don't do this," I pleaded stroking his soft fur. "We've been through so much…I…we…" Bob was sensing my sudden surge of emotions because he came and put his slobbery face in my lap. He looked up at me with sad eyes and I sat there numbly stroking both pets.

Finally the tears stopped, but it still felt like an anvil was crushing my chest. I didn't know what to do with Rex, so I carefully put him back in his aquarium. Maybe Morelli would take care of him for me later.

I glanced over at the donut that I never had the chance to eat. Part of me still wanted to eat it, but part of me wanted to blame it for Rex's sudden demise. I grabbed it, shoved it back in the Tasty Pastry box, and went to throw the whole thing in the garbage. Stupid donuts!

Then I noticed a sticky note that had been under the box. "Strike Two," it said. Oh my gosh! Suddenly I didn't care if my phone had been hacked. I pulled mine out and immediately dialed Ranger.

"Babe," he answered.

"He…killed…Rex!" I sobbed.

"What?" he asked. "Slow down. Rex. Your hamster?"

"It was meant for me! And h-he killed h-him!" I knew I was being hysterical and probably sounded like I belonged in the looney bin, but I couldn't control it. The donuts were the last straw.

"You're at the house, right?" Ranger asked.

"Mm-hic-hmm."

"Just sit tight. I'll be over in a few."

Bob sat with me while I waited for Ranger. He bumped my hand with his wet nose and kept watching me with those sad, apologetic eyes.

"You're-hic-a good dog," I said patting his head. "Good-hic-dog, Bob." I couldn't stop the hiccupping.

I was slumped on the kitchen table when Ranger walked in, still recovering from my sob fest. He didn't say anything. Instead he walked over and took my hand in his. He shook his head but there was a soft smile on his face.

"Babe, you're a mess," he said brushing some hair away from my face.

"Mm-hic-hmm," I nodded. He pulled up a chair and we just sat for several moments. Finally Ranger got up and went and looked in Rex's aquarium.

"Sorry," he frowned. "Looks like Rex is gone." I nodded with tears still rolling down my cheeks.

"Pretty sure it was the donut," I sniffed. I stood up and went back to the kitchen. I grabbed the sticky note and retrieved the box of donuts I'd thrown in the trash. Ranger looked them over.

"Babe, it's time," he said.

"Time for what?" I sniffed.

"This person's not going to stop. I don't want you anywhere near here for strike three. It's time to move you to a safe house. I'll even talk to Morelli if you want." Oh crap! Morelli!

"What time is it?" I asked.

"A little after six. Why?"

"I'm supposed to meet Morelli for dinner." Ranger gave me a look.

"Call him and tell him you're not going to make it. I can debrief him later about the safe house stuff." I rolled my eyes.

"I actually really need to talk to him. Can't this safe-house stuff wait?"

"Babe, someone just left you poisoned donuts. Your hamster is dead. I think it's time to go." I hated to admit that he was probably right. But I was still sitting on the mother of all secrets! I was going to explode if I didn't at least get _that_ off my chest.

"Hey…did I leave anything in your apartment earlier today?" I asked nonchalantly. I'm not sure why I was trying to play it cool. Ranger either had it or he didn't. I'd already jeopardized everything anyway by taking the test at his apartment in the first place.

"Babe," he said reaching into his pocket. He set something on the table and we both looked at it.

"It's a dash," I said. Ranger nodded.

"That's negative, right?" I asked. Ranger raised his eyebrows in a "how the hell should I know?" expression.

"Didn't you keep the instructions?" he asked. I shook my head.

"They're probably still in your bathroom garbage." Which Ella had probably taken out already. Well that's just great! Why couldn't I have just shoplifted the test with the easy-to-read pink plus sign? Now I was probably going to have to shoplift another stupid test.

I buried my face in my hands. "This day can't end soon enough," I moaned. Ranger handed me my phone.

"Call Morelli," he said. "Cancel the dinner first then we can figure out what comes next." I didn't really want to cancel the dinner, but it was one less thing I'd have to worry about, so I took the phone and dialed his number.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey Cupcake, what's up?"

"I hate to be a jerk, but I'm not going to be able to make it for dinner tonight."

"Funny, I was just going to call and tell you the same thing. I'm still knee-deep in paperwork here, and we just got an update on a suspect we've been tracking. The endless saga of good guys vs. bad guys continues," he sighed. "See you later tonight then?" I shook my head.

"Actually, I have some bad news," I said starting to tear up again. "Rex died."

"Aw Steph, I'm really sorry. You've had him for a really long time. Do you need anything? Cake, donuts, ice cream? You name it, and I'll try to pick something up on my way home."

"Thanks, but I think I'll just head over to my apartment. Kind of like a trip down memory lane, I guess." I paused. "I might stay there for a few days." I hated lying, but I was worried about further involving Morelli in my current mess.

"You'll be back right?" he asked. He was probably worried about my recurring cold-feet problem.

"Yeah. I just need a little time to myself. I'll call you later."

"Stephanie," he added before disconnecting. "I love you. Please don't stay away too long." I sighed.

"I won't," I said and ended the call. "Alright. What now?" I asked turning to Ranger.

"You go pack a bag, and I make some calls." Terrific.


	17. Chapter 17

"I don't think I can do this," I muttered once we were in the car. Ranger glanced over at me.

"At this point, I don't recall there being much of an alternative."

"I still have skips to bring in, and there's this whole thing going on with Lula and Tiny, and what if something happens to Morelli? Why can't I just lay low in my apartment for a while?"

"Not gonna happen babe." Ranger was pretty solid on his decision to have me locked up somewhere until all of this was over. The only problem is I don't exactly do well sitting around doing nothing all day. Maybe I could up the ante a little in order to persuade Ranger to at least let me stay local.

"What if I agreed to stay at Rangeman?" I asked. Ranger kept his focus on the road, but I could see the corner of his mouth twitch. He was at least considering it.

"Feeling desperate?" he asked. "What if the safe house I'm sending you to is on some island in the Caribbean? You could spend your days on the beach drinking fruity drinks with umbrellas. And I wouldn't have to worry about your safety all day." I rolled my eyes. Yeah right.

"I'd rather stay and help. Speaking of helping, I finally talked with the MIT guy at the police station. Sounds like your phone was definitely hacked. The good news is that with the right equipment, we could probably do a trace on it that might lead us back to the hacker."

"One step ahead of you, babe," Ranger interrupted. "The phone that was used was a burner phone. I managed to trace the signal, but it led me to a dumpster out of town. No prints on the phone. No sign of whoever is behind all of this."

"Does this mean I can't stay at Rangeman?" I asked.

"It means I'm still considering it. Can't you just sit back and cooperate for once?"

I gave him the "are you kidding me?" look and crossed my arms. "It's not like I'm _that_ much trouble…" I muttered.

Ranger frowned. "Babe, you've been trouble since the first day I met you."

"Well I don't recall asking you to take on the job as my protector. You did that all on your own. If you think I'm so much trouble, why not just let this guy do his thing and get on with life?"

I think my sadness over Rex was starting to morph into higher levels of sass and attitude. Also, I did kind of want to know the _why_ behind Ranger's repeated rescues. For most people it would probably seem like a pointless exercise. For Ranger it had become almost a second career.

"What else would I have to occupy my time?" He smiled trying to keep the mood light.

"Oh, that's right. I'm just entertainment for you. I forgot. My mistake."

"You know you're more than that," he said softly.

"Am I?" I asked looking over at him. He immediately pulled the car over to the side of the road.

"Yes." His eyes were dark and lusty, and suddenly my mind blanked on what we were talking about. He leaned over and kissed me with enough heat to melt my clothes off. I reached down and touched my jeans just to make sure they were still there.

"Wow," I sighed as Ranger put the car back in gear. "What did _that_ mean?"

"It means I've decided you can stay at Rangeman. But _don't_ stun any of my employees this time, got it?"

"One time," I said in protest. "That only happened _one time_ , and it was totally necessary. I was going out of my mind."

"Yeah, well you better keep your mind in check this time, or else I'll be shipping you off to that safe house faster than you can say stun gun." I really didn't like being told what to do. And I absolutely hated the fact that I wanted Ranger to kiss me again. It meant I was losing control of the situation. And I needed to stay in control. I needed to focus. Therefore, I decided to direct my attention toward creating a mental escape plan from Rangeman…just in case.

We pulled into the garage at Rangeman, grabbed my duffel bag, and took the elevator up to the seventh floor. It still felt strange without all the furniture, but at least it was secure. I went and tossed my bag in the bedroom then wandered back out to the kitchen.

"I haven't had dinner yet. Do you have anything to eat?" I asked.

"Actually I need to go talk with Ella. I'll see if she has dinner ready when I go down. I'll be back shortly. Feel free to make yourself at home."

I was a little hurt that he didn't want me to tag along, but since I'd had the day from hell, I decided to make the most of having a moment or two to myself. I grabbed a bottle of water and went and sat on the couch. I was just about to rummage through my shoulder bag for a candy bar when my phone rang. It was Grandma Mazur.

"Stephanie," she said. "I'm at Joe's place and no one's home. You guys aren't upstairs ignoring me, are you? I mean, I totally understand if you're, ya know, busy. But I'd be kind of annoyed if you're just avoiding me."

"No, Gram," I sighed. "No one's there. Honest. Joe's still at the station, and I'm…working."

"You're with that Ranger fella, aren't you?" she asked.

"No!" I said a little too quickly.

"Don't worry, I won't tell the cop."

"Good because there's nothing to tell. Why'd you call anyway?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"I got a ride over here to show off my new toy." I cringed. There was a high probability that Grandma's new toy either emitted high voltage or required bullets.

"Take it back," I said abruptly. "Grab the receipt and take it back. Immediately."

"You're no fun," she grouched. "It's just a cell phone anyway. Sheesh!"

"Your new toy is a cell phone?" I asked.

"Yeah, is there an echo in here?"

"That's cell and phone as in no gun, right?"

"Why? Do you think I should return it and get a new gun?"

"No! No guns! Besides hopefully no one would be dumb enough to sell you one."

"Well that's not very nice. I think I'm a very responsible gun owner."

"You're not even supposed to have one. Besides, you don't have a permit."

"It's Jersey, honey. No one has a permit."

"That's not a good argument," I sighed. "So a new phone, huh?"

"Yeah, a pip of one too. I just touch the screen and all these things pop up. I can even take pictures. Watch this!"

"No Grandma, don't!" and with that the line went dead. Old people and technology weren't usually a good mix. Oh well. At least it would keep Grandma Mazur out of trouble for a while.

Three minutes later I got a text message from her. "thbt grn blanto," it said. For a moment I debated about blocking her number. Just until she got the hang of the new phone. At least she knew how to make calls.

I heard the door and Ranger walked in with a tray of food.

"It's all for me, right?" I asked teasingly hopping up from the couch. "I'm starving!"

"Is there ever a time when you're _not_ starving?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Very funny." I loaded my plate with a grilled pork chop, some mashed potatoes, and some steamed asparagus. I frowned a little. This was all a little too healthy for the kind of day I'd had. Something deep fried and smothered in gravy sounded more appropriate. Ranger caught my expression.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. It's just… Oh never mind. You wouldn't understand."

Ranger pulled a small bowl from behind his back. "She whipped it up just for you," he said smiling. Hot dog! It was gravy.

I went and kissed him on the cheek, grabbed the bowl and dumped almost the entire contents all over my plate. I dunked my finger in and licked it. Delicious!

"I had a chance to talk with Louis," Ranger said as we started eating. "He said he found the cayenne on the floor in their car. He assumed it had fallen out of one of Ella's grocery bags. I've given them a Rangeman loaner, and I'm doing a full work-up on their vehicle. I doubt we'll find any prints, but maybe something else was left behind."

I was too busy enjoying my dinner to hear much of the conversation. Maybe it was an avoidance tactic. After all, I was pretty tired of hearing only the bad news. My phone buzzed. Speaking of bad news…

"You're not going to answer that?" Ranger asked curiously.

"It's Grandma Mazur. She got a new phone." I handed my phone to Ranger.

"What is 'thbt grncez' supposed to mean?" he asked glancing at it.

"I think its code for old people shouldn't have smart phones." There was a twitch of a smile.

"Babe."

We continued our dinner with a few additional interruptions from Grandma. Eventually I decided I'd call her tomorrow and find out what all the gobbledy-gook meant. Until then, I decided it was best to turn my phone off.

By my last bite, I could feel my eyelids start to droop. Any minute now, I was probably going to do a face-plant in my plate.

"You can go to bed if you want," Ranger said grabbing the dishes. "I'll clean up."

I felt a sudden surge of panic. Ranger only had the one bed, and he didn't usually volunteer to sleep on the couch. I was probably too tired for sleeping in the same bed to be a big deal, but Ranger also liked to sleep in the buff, and that was _always_ a big deal.

"Is it ok if I sleep on the couch?" I asked sheepishly.

"No." The answer took me by surprise.

"Why?"

"Sleeping on the couch is uncomfortable, and I have stuff to work on out here. Just go use the bed." I stared at him for a moment but decided I was too tired to argue. I sighed and walked off to the bedroom. It was cool and perfect, and the sheets were my favorite. I was secretly thrilled not to be sleeping on the couch. After throwing on some pajama pants, I crawled in the bed and ten seconds later I was out like a light.


	18. Chapter 18

***Quick Question Time***

 _I am just about done writing this story (yay!), so my question to all the readers is this: would you prefer for me to continue posting chapters one at a time, or are you more interested in me posting the remainder of the story all at once. It'll still be broken up into chapters, but you can finish it at your own pace. So, if you're a story glutton like me, you might finish in a day, or if you prefer to savor things, you might space it out over a few weeks. Let me know what you think._

I woke up in the night feeling disoriented. The room felt off and I couldn't get my bearings. I sat up abruptly in the bed and gasped. Ranger sat up next to me; his hand brushed my arm.

"Bad dream?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Sorry. Just disoriented." I looked back at him. Tactical, working Ranger had been temporarily turned off and replaced with whatever existed beneath all the layers. I had always considered him somehow superhuman, but for this one moment he seemed to have returned to his mortal form.

"You're staring," he said leaning back in the pillows.

"You look different for some reason. I hadn't noticed before."

"Noticed what?" he yawned.

"You. I mean…the _real_ you." I leaned forward and rested my arms on my knees. Ranger traced a line down my back with his finger then gave a gentle tug on my shirt.

"Sometimes I feel like you're the only one who sees the real me."

"Oh?" I waited for him to say something more on the matter, but apparently that was all I was going to get. The middle of the night probably wasn't the best time to have this conversation anyway. Besides, I _had_ a boyfriend. There was even the possibility that I could be pregnant. Why had it taken me so long to remember that?

I hopped off the bed and ran to the bathroom. Damn! The wastebasket was empty. No pregnancy test instructions. I kicked the garbage can in frustration and slumped on the toilet.

Ranger was in the doorway. "Everything ok in here?" he asked kindly pulling on his black boxers. To be honest, I was mostly too bummed to notice.

"Your housekeeper is a little too good at her job," I sighed.

"Want me to run out and get you another test?"

I raised an eyebrow. " _You'd_ go buy me another pregnancy test?"

"I'd send one of the guys to do it. Probably one of the new hires." I laughed a little. It was funny to think of a big bulky line-backer type at the drugstore checkout with a pregnancy test. But it was probably a bad idea. There weren't any women working at Rangeman other than Ella. It wouldn't take a whole roomful of guys very long to figure out my secret.

"I'll just wait it out for now," I sighed heading back into the bedroom. "It's not like this sort of thing can go undetected long term."

"Does Morelli know?" Ranger asked. I had a feeling he already knew the answer since I'd been stupid enough to sneak into his apartment to take the test.

"Not yet. I wanted to be sure before I said anything." I slumped on the bed. I was really starting to feel like I had too many thoughts and emotions swirling around in my head. But in the midst of it all, I could sense that _something_ was trying to make it to the forefront of the storm.

"Why were the donuts strike two?" I blurted abruptly. "Shouldn't there have been a strike one?"

"Probably the poisoned pepper incident, why?"

Strikes implied a sequence of events. And the sticky note hadn't been directly attached to the poisoned box of donuts. What if there had been something I'd missed on the counter? _Or_ what if we were dealing with two separate situations?

I thought back to my car explosion and Bruno. Someone related to all of that wanted me dead. The other person seemed more interested in playing some sick game.

"I'm going to have to go back on our deal tomorrow," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"I need to go out and do some research. I think we've had two separate situations going on here all along, and I need to have a chat with Bruno to clarify some things."

"I'll talk with Bruno. You're staying here."

"I can't do that."

"Stephanie, I'm not asking."

"Fine. Message received. But you can't keep me here, and we both know it. You can either help me or go off and do your own thing. Either way I'm going out, and I'm going to get to the bottom of this."

Ranger went even more quiet than usual. Silence like that was Ranger code for anger. I knew my speech had struck a nerve.

"You better get some sleep then," he said crawling back in bed and pulling up the covers.

"Oh?"

"We have target practice first thing in the morning."

With a massive eye roll, I turned over and tried to fall asleep again.

The alarm went off at five. In my groggy frustration, I wanted to turn and punch Ranger in the nose for being serious about the early morning, but fortunately for him by the time I turned over, he was already out of the bed and heading to the shower. I was feeling grumpy, tired, and frustrated, and I was really feeling the need to release some steam. Maybe a firing range wasn't such a bad idea. Although right this second the target I wanted to focus on wasn't paper…

"Are you up?" Ranger asked coming out of the bathroom several minutes later. His hair was damp and the Bulgari smell wafted into the room behind him. Too bad I was too grumpy to notice how sexy he looked. Ok, _almost_ too grumpy to notice.

"No," I groaned pulling the covers tightly over my head. I was going to get up when I was good and ready, thank you very much. I heard his footsteps coming over to the bed, so I further tightened my grip on the sheets. Instead of pulling the covers off from the top, he pulled them from the bottom and started tickling my feet. Good grief! After all this time, he was still incredibly unpredictable.

"Stop," I pleaded gritting my teeth, trying desperately not to laugh. I tried to tuck my legs underneath me, but Ranger tackled me.

"Are you ready to get up now?" he asked poking at me and tugging at the blankets.

"No?" He leaned down, pulled the sheets away from my face, and kissed my neck. It sent tingles everywhere.

"How about now?" Oh, I was _definitely_ awake now. I was terrified to turn and look at him because I knew _that_ look all too well.

"You have a lot of energy in the morning," I said turning over.

"You have no idea." We both stared at each other for several moments contemplating what came next. I knew what _I_ wanted to do. I wanted to make good use of Ranger's extra energy. But once again that guilt stuff made me hesitate. And Ranger never moved forward without an invitation. Eventually he hopped off the bed.

"I'll go see if Ella's got breakfast going," he said as he headed out the door.

I grabbed some clothes from my duffel bag and went and hopped in the shower. Normally my time in the shower is spent contemplating life's mysteries or trying to solve world hunger. I probably should have been spending the time thinking about what I wanted to ask Bruno, but instead I was stuck on the mystery of Ranger. Morelli was always saying that I gave him heartburn. Karma was making sure I understood exactly what that felt like. Ranger was giving _me_ heartburn. And maybe an ulcer.

I pulled my hair into a ponytail and added minimal makeup. In reality, I should've just put a paper bag over my head. Then I wouldn't even be capable of sending any signals, mixed or otherwise.

When I finally made my way out to the kitchen, Ranger was on his computer in the living room, and there was a tray on the counter with bagels, cream cheese, smoked salmon, and fresh fruit.

"What are you working on?" I asked grabbing a bagel.

"Just some work stuff," he replied shutting off the computer. "You ready to head downstairs?" Apparently Ranger had been serious about the target practice.

"Ummm… I didn't remember to bring my gun."

"Too bad," he shrugged. "Looks like you're off the hook."

"Really?"

"No." His mouth twitched into a slight smile. "I'm sure I have a few lying around that you could borrow." Ranger humor. I sighed.

"Ok, I guess I don't have any further excuses. Let's go." I stopped at the door. "You wouldn't happen to have a paper bag lying around, would you?" Ranger looked at me like I was crazy. "Just thought I'd ask."


	19. Chapter 19

_Thanks for all your responses. By majority rule, I've decided to go ahead and post the remainder of the chapters all at once. But before I do, I need to reiterate that Janet Evanovich owns all of the characters in this story save for a few of my own quirky additions. And I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to my husband who has been moonlighting as my editor. He's been a great sport considering he hasn't read any of the books before. He keeps my grammar in check and points out the occasional plot discrepancy. All of the character problems, if any, are my own doing. I honestly couldn't have completed any of this without his assistance, so basically, he's awesome. And lastly, for all of you who trudged along through this story wondering what exactly I had planned for Stephanie Plum, I hope the ending lives up to your expectations. So without further ado, I give you the conclusion to_ Second Chances. _Enjoy!_

The good news is that I hit a few of the targets. The bad news is that I'm pretty sure Ranger left feeling even less confident in my shooting abilities than when we started. I'd like to blame it on my lack of sleep, but mostly it was because I never took the time to practice. I didn't like guns, and I avoided using them whenever humanly possible.

"So you want to start with Bruno?" Ranger asked as we made our way to the Rangeman floor. Starting with Bruno seemed like the obvious starting point in my new investigation, but that made things complicated with Morelli. Bruno might still be locked up if he wasn't able to post bail again. Chances are, I'd run into Morelli at the station, and if Ranger was with me… Let's just say things could get a little messy.

"Actually, I could use your help with a skip first. His place is in a bad part of town. Brought in for stealing cars. Sounded kinda intimidating." Ranger stood quietly mulling it over. Then he left me in his office and went and talked with a few of the guys.

He came back several minutes later and dropped a stack of folders on his desk. "I cleared my morning schedule so we can bring in the car thief and go talk with Bruno. We'll need to be back this afternoon though. I've got a meeting that can't be rescheduled."

We headed for the garage and climbed in the Porsche.

"Do you have the file for the FTA?" he asked. I pulled the file for Shorty Simmons from my shoulder bag and handed it to Ranger. He glanced through it before starting the car.

"If you don't mind, I could desperately use a cup of coffee before getting on with the day." I showed him my phone. "This thing says it's only seven o'clock." Ranger's mouth twitched. I think I was being annoying.

"Any other special requests?" he asked pulling out of the garage. I could think of several, but I shook my head no.

We stopped at a nearby Starbucks, and I heard my phone ring. It was Morelli.

"Sorry I'm calling so early, but I think we really need to talk."

The "we need to talk" line couldn't mean anything good. "What do we need to talk about?" I asked as innocently as possible. Playing dumb was apparently one of my new talents.

"I stopped by your place last night with some ice cream." Uh oh. "You weren't there." No kidding. "It looks like you haven't been there in a while. It was kind of weird actually. You may want to check it out at some point. But all that aside, is there something you want to tell me?" I thought really hard for a minute then decided to stick with the lying.

"I got a little lonely, so I went and crashed with Lula."

"Hmm. Funny. The thing is, Lula called me last night to see if I had any single friends that she could set her sister up with. She asked how you were. Said you'd been acting a little weird lately, and she hadn't heard from you in a while." Crap. The lying had finally caught up with me.

"Joe, I can explain…"

"Don't bother. I get it. You don't want to tell me where you stayed last night. But I think I need to know because I can only think of one reason why you'd lie to me like this. You're with _him_ , aren't you?"

"Yes," I eventually answered. The lying was obviously making things worse. I decided to give telling the truth a go. "But it's not what you think."

"Of course it's not… Stephanie, you must think I'm _really_ stupid. I see the way he looks at you. Everyone does. I just thought…," he trailed off. "I thought you'd made up your mind." I could feel my eyes start to tear up. I really didn't want to have this conversation in the car with Ranger sitting next to me.

"Joe, just give me a chance to explain. I'll meet you for dinner."

"I'll think about it, but right now I need some time alone. I'll let you know when I'm ready to talk." The call ended. I quickly wiped my eyes and leaned back in the seat. That sure sounded like it had all the key components of a breakup. Ranger snuck a glance over my direction.

"Want me to try and smooth things over?" he offered.

"No way! He'd probably strangle you with his bare hands." Or worse, he'd probably tell him that he's done trying to make everything work between us and give him full permission to proceed with…whatever it was that existed between us. Except I wasn't exactly sure what that was; we still had the oil and vinegar thing going on.

The car ride was feeling too quiet, especially since I couldn't stop mentally replaying the phone conversation I'd just had with Morelli. I needed a distraction.

"Can we listen to some music?" I asked already reaching for the dials on the sound system. I flipped it on. Classical music played softly from the speakers.

"Why do you always have to listen to _classical_ music?" I asked feeling frustrated.

"It's therapeutic. They say it makes you smarter." I glanced over at him and couldn't tell if he was joking with me. Like Ranger needed to get any smarter… Besides, I wasn't feeling the need to be smart right now, and this definitely wasn't the right kind of therapy for me. I needed to do some loud screech-singing until I collapsed into an exhausted heap. I also really needed a bag of donuts.

"Can you drop me by the bonds office if I promise not to go anywhere?"

"I thought we were going to go grab the car thief."

"I changed my mind. I need to talk with Lula." And I also really needed to get away from Ranger for a while. Nothing was making sense anymore, and I needed some alone time to do some serious processing.

Ranger was thinking about it; I could tell he wasn't thrilled with the idea. He turned a sharp corner and headed down an alternate route.

"You get one hour. I'll take care of the skip, but don't go sneaking off by yourself. It's not a secret where you work. I don't want anyone taking advantage of that." His look was serious, so I nodded my understanding.

We pulled up to the bonds office, and I hopped out. Ranger morphed into work mode and took off without even a goodbye. Maybe he was mad at Morelli or maybe he was frustrated with me. Or maybe he was just being Ranger. I decided I didn't care at the moment. I had some stuff of my own to work through.


	20. Chapter 20

I walked into the bonds office. Connie was at her desk talking on the phone.

"How are things going?" I whispered.

She nodded a hello and continued her conversation. I went and slumped on the couch.

"You look a little down," Connie said once she was off the phone again. "Everything alright?"

"Just peachy," I sighed. "Lula's not in yet?"

"I'm surprised _you're_ in," she said. "You know what time it is, right?" I nodded.

"Ranger's helping me with a skip. He likes to get an early start."

"And you're here because…?"

"I needed to work some things out, and it's kind of hard to do riding around with Batman."

"I think you're missing the point. You'd be riding around with _Batman_. You work through what's bugging you later." Connie was probably right, but I was still feeling crummy about Morelli.

Maybe I'd swing by the station. I could talk with Bruno and also try to smooth things over with Morelli. Of course I'd probably get a lecture from Ranger. After some further consideration, I decided I could deal with the lecture.

"Can I borrow your car?" I asked Connie

"Not permanently," she said while simultaneously checking her lipstick in a pocket mirror.

"I need to swing by the police station. There's a guy I need to ask a few questions." Connie tossed me her car keys.

"Make sure you have it back before lunch. Otherwise I'll be stuck with the three-day-old tuna sandwich in the mini fridge."

I glanced around the parking lot before taking off. Knowing Ranger, there was probably a tracking device strategically placed on me somewhere I didn't know about. I half expected his car to whip around the corner to keep me from leaving. Surprisingly, no black cars appeared, so I hopped in Connie's car and headed toward the Trenton police station.

It had been a couple days since the Bruno incident, so I wasn't sure if he was still being held in custody. He could have posted bail again, and if that was the case, he was probably long gone. I know I wouldn't stick around after all the drama he'd been through.

I walked up to the main desk and asked if he was being held in the jail.

"Bruno?" the lady at the desk asked. "Let me take a look." She typed a few things into her computer then started shaking her head.

"Bruno was sent to the hospital for chest pains almost as soon as he got here," she said. "He didn't come back."

Maybe Bruno's encounter with the Rhino had been worse than I'd thought. I thanked her for her help and decided to call the hospital. A cheery voice answered the phone.

"I'm calling to check on the status of a patient," I started. It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't know Bruno's last name, but it seemed like no one really did. It wasn't even in his file. Hopefully the nurse would recognize the name. "Do you have a patient who goes by the name Bruno? He was brought in a couple days ago with chest pains."

"Hmm, let me check." She put me on hold. I drummed my fingers anxiously on my knee. "I did a quick search," she said coming back on the line. "No one here by that name. Could he be at another hospital?"

"I don't think so, but thanks anyway." I ended the call and headed out to the parking lot. No Bruno meant no answers. There was a small possibility that the Rhino could still be locked up, but I was a little less interested in talking with him. Considering our last encounter, he probably wouldn't be excited about seeing me either.

I still had some time to see about making amends with Morelli, but after mulling the scenario over in my mind, I decided against it. He was at work, and I didn't want to make his work day any more stressful than it probably already was. Heading back to the bonds office seemed like the better course of action.

Ranger's Cayenne was waiting in one of the parking spaces in front of Vinnie's. I sighed. Things just kept getting better and better.

His door opened and he walked over looking a little less-than-amused to see me. Ok, so that was an understatement. He looked genuinely pissed. He opened the passenger door.

"Get in," he said sharply.

I hesitated. "You're kind of sending the 'homicidal maniac' vibe, and for some crazy reason I feel like it's directed at me."

"I'm mad if that's what you're implying. You weren't waiting in the office like you promised."

"I was at the police station checking on Bruno. It's probably one of the safest places I could've been. I was surrounded by like a hundred people in uniform."

"Did you ever stop to think that whoever's behind all of this could be hiding out as a cop? They have a lot of resources, babe. And you're still not being safe." It was then that I noticed the bruise starting to form on Ranger's cheek.

"What's that?" I asked pointing to his face. He shrugged.

"Simmons took a swing at me, and I had some aggression to work through this morning."

"And here you were lecturing _me_ on being safe…," I muttered. Ranger handed me the body receipt.

"It was a controlled situation." I did an eye roll. Men…

"I'm going to return Connie's keys. I'll be out in a minute." Ranger had the car started by the time I came out of the bonds office. I climbed in the passenger side.

"What did you find out from Bruno?" he asked.

"I didn't exactly get to talk to him. The police had to send him to the hospital because of some chest pains, but he never made it back to the station. I called the hospital, but there weren't any patients there by that name. Do you think something bad happened to him?"

"That, or he could have made an escape from the hospital. He might still be hiding out somewhere. You said he was initially picked up on drug charges?" I nodded. "Maybe we should see if anyone has seen him along Stark." It wasn't a bad plan.

"Ok, but I think I need a donut first."

"Babe."

After I polished off two delicious sugary confections, we made our way toward the rougher end of town. Stark Street seemed even more glum and dreary than usual. And it was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Where do you think everyone is?" I asked. "There should have been at least a desperate hooker along here by now. Something feels kind of off, doesn't it?" Ranger didn't answer, but stayed intensely focused on our surroundings. I could tell he was feeling unsettled too.

Eventually a group of rough and tumble kids came walking down the street. They eyed the car suspiciously before disappearing into a broken-down garage.

"I think we should talk to them," Ranger said making a quick assessment of parking possibilities. Normally a car this nice driving along Stark would signify a drug dealer's vehicle, which more or less meant that people left it alone. Given the current vibe from the street, the safety of the vehicle was a little ambiguous.

Ranger parked a block over from the garage then reached for some things behind his seat.

He shoved a few items in his pockets and put on a black ball cap. "Come on. If we don't hurry, we'll probably miss them."

Ranger grabbed my arm and started walking briskly toward the garage. Normally, you wouldn't catch me dead doing something so bold in this neighborhood. Even if they were just kids. But since Ranger was there, I didn't feel quite as nervous. We walked up to the group of kids who were obviously trying to hide something they were looking at.

"Yo," Ranger said as we made our way over to them.

One of the kids looked up. "Mind ya own biznezz, man," he said flipping us the bird. There was some snickering from the group.

Ranger remained emotionless and unfazed. "This girl's lookin' for her son," he said. "The last time she saw him he was hangin' with a guy by the name of Bruno. Any of you know him?" There was some collective murmuring, but no one spoke up. "What if my friend Jackson gets involved?" Ranger asked pulling a twenty from his pocket.

One boy started to say something, but was instantly shushed by the group. The tough kid who'd talked earlier walked up to Ranger all youthful brawn and bravado. He was obviously the group leader and couldn't have been much older than thirteen.

"Listen, man," he started. "We don't need no mo trouble 'round here. There's some nasty shit goin' down these days cuz no one's seen peace-keepin' Bruno in a while. Sorry to say it lady, but yo son's probably at the bottom of a rivah somewhere. That's the rumor on Bruno anyway. Best lay low and keep yo biznezz to yoself."

Ranger did a subtle head nod. "Thanks kid," he said. The boy hauled back and socked Ranger square in the jaw. My mouth was hanging open like a hooked fish.

"Don't go callin' me no kid," he growled. "I've got me a reputation to maintain." There was a moment when Ranger's eyes flashed the need to retaliate, but he grabbed my hand instead, and we headed back to the street.

We climbed back in the car. Ranger rubbed his jaw then tossed the black cap behind the seat. "What do you think? Turf war situation?" he asked. I shrugged my shoulders. "How is it that you always end up right in the middle of this stuff? You really are a magnet for disaster, aren't you?" I shrugged again.

"Think we'll have any luck finding Bruno?" I asked as we pulled onto Stark.

"Not without some more information. Got any other leads?" I shook my head. "Then we'd better head back to Rangeman. I've got that meeting soon. You're going to stay put, right?" He raised an eyebrow. I hated giving any definite answers in case I had to change my mind later, but I was still putting puzzle pieces together, so I could probably stand to stay put for an afternoon.

"Or course. But you'll probably have to give me a crash course on your TV again. That thing has more remotes and gizmos than the Nasa Space Station." Ranger stared at me a moment, which probably was the equivalent of an eye roll, but then his mouth twitched.

"Babe." At least I was convenient entertainment, right?


	21. Chapter 21

Ranger walked me up to his apartment, gave me a brief rundown of the TV then promptly departed for his meeting. Ella dropped by with some lunch, so I sat at the kitchen table snacking while writing down some notes on our current situation. Bruno seemed to be a key player in at least part of this, but I was worried he might be somewhere pushing up daisies.

Running into a dead end with Bruno, no pun intended, I decided to write out the list of events as they'd unfolded over the last several days. There were the three mystery packages, the break-in with the man in black, the dead flowers, the poisoned cayenne pepper, the car explosion, and the poisoned donuts.

The first half of the list all seemed directly tied to Ranger. The car and the donuts seemed unrelated and were focused more specifically on me. There was a suspect in custody for the car bombing, and I'd seen the crystal blue eyes of the man involved with the Ranger stuff.

Obviously it still wasn't much to go on, but I could tell my next step involved finding out what the police knew regarding the Stark Street mess. Morelli had mentioned a Stark case at my parents' house the other night. He'd probably be a useful resource. But considering we weren't on speaking terms at the moment, getting him to share privileged information with me was probably a moot point.

Thinking about dinner with my family, I decided to give Grandma a call and find out how her new phone was working out.

"Stephanie?" she asked after the fifth ring. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, Gram," I answered. "I was calling to see how you're doing."

"You didn't get any of my texts?"

I did a mental grimace. "My phone was off."

"Nothing much new going on around here anyway. There's a viewing at the funeral home this evening. Care to join me?"

"Not tonight, Gram. I'm kind of busy right now with a case, and I'm not sure when it's all going to be taken care of. Maybe we can catch up in a couple of days. Until then, give everyone my love."

"Will do," she said in a singsong voice. "Oh! Before you go, I almost forgot to tell you. I've got another date with Mr. Martindale tomorrow evening. Said he'd give me a crash course on how to do picture messaging. Is that the same as sexting?"

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, look at the time… Gotta go. Have fun, Gram."

Old people and technology…eeesh!

After hanging up with Grandma Mazur, I decided to take the TV for a spin. It was still complicated, and I could feel myself starting to get antsy. I'd already racked my brain for details related to the cases, and nothing had yet to lead to a breakthrough. There were holes I couldn't fill without doing more research, and sitting idly in Ranger's apartment wasn't helping anything.

After another fifteen minutes of pacing around, I was ready to make an escape plan. Moments later I had the rough outline of an idea; a really sketchy and mostly stupid idea.

As I was refining some of the details, I felt a sudden change in air pressure. I started casually making my way towards the door. Ranger walked in and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

"Nope. Just thought I heard something suspicious outside. I was just on my way to check it out."

"With your handbag and," he slid his hand into my pocket. " _My_ car keys?"

"There's a panic button on the key ring, right? There could have been a dangerous intruder at the door. Figured I could throw them off guard with the alarm."

"The panic button's for the car, babe. Nice try." He tossed the extra keys back in the bowl in the entryway then headed for the kitchen.

"How was the meeting?" I asked changing the subject.

"Successful," he said grabbing a water bottle from the fridge.

"While you were busy playing corporate genius, I was doing some thinking about our case. I need to find out more on the Stark Street situation. Have you heard anything about it?"

"Babe, between my usual clients and our current mess, I haven't had a whole lot of extra time to keep up with local events. I can make some calls if you want." He took a sip of the water. "Still thinking Bruno is the key?"

I nodded. "And I think Morelli's working a case that might be tied in too. I'd call him, but I don't think he's interested in talking to me right now. Even in a professional capacity."

"I'll head downstairs in a minute and see what I can find out. Anything else you want me to look into?"

"I have mail that probably needs to get picked up from my apartment, but other than that, I think I'm good. Good luck with things downstairs." I leaned over and kissed him. And not just a friendly little peck on the cheek. It was a heated kiss with a little strategic groping. This time Ranger didn't pull back. Go figure. In fact, before I knew it half my clothes were gone and we were almost to the bedroom.

I did an internal grimace and pulled back. "Umm…maybe this should wait," I said softly. Ranger took a step back and stared at me.

"You can't be serious," he sighed.

"There's just so much going on right now. I'm not sure I can focus on anything else." Ranger leaned down and kissed the pulse point on my neck.

"Trust me, babe. You won't need to." And the truth was, he was probably right. I could _totally_ ignore all the stuff going on and focus on Ranger. I didn't even need any additional incentives. However, there was something that currently required my attention, and unfortunately it wasn't Ranger.

"This isn't going to happen right now, is it?" he asked. I shook my head and frowned.

"Sorry. I'll make it up to you," I called after him as he adjusted his clothing and walked back to the door.

He sighed again. "I'll see what I can find out downstairs." He headed back toward the elevator.

Ok, so I felt marginally guilty for putting on the breaks like that especially since I'd been the one who initiated everything with the kiss. And I felt slightly worse that my tactics had succeeded in getting me what I was _really_ after. I held Ranger's master set of keys in my hands. Pickpocketing was definitely a new low for me.

I quickly grabbed my bag and headed for the elevator. Given Ranger's keen sense of well, everything, I probably had only a few precious moments to get my butt to the garage before he realized what had happened.

There had been a few times at Rangeman when Ranger and I had gotten a little carried away in direct line of sight of the security cameras. With a click of a button, Ranger was able to block the security feed to the control room and give us a little more privacy. I hit that same button as I entered the elevator and then again in the garage.

Ranger was probably hot on my trail by now, so I quickly hopped in the Porsche Cayenne and sped off down the street. My phone rang once I was a few blocks away. Obviously I knew who it was before I answered.

"I'm not sure if I should be furious or proud," Ranger said with a hint of amusement. "That stunt you pulled was…something else."

"How long did it take you to notice?" I asked curiously.

"A few minutes before I reached my office. Didn't want to take the Turbo, huh?"

"I thought that might be crossing a line."

"Babe."

"I have a few things I think I need to do alone."

"Still have the watch?"

"Yep."

"Be safe." The call ended. There was much less push-back than I had anticipated.

At least from what I could tell, I wasn't permanently in the dog house. Still, Ranger was probably plotting some form of retaliation. I knew I would be. Ranger wasn't kidding about my actions being "something else." They were something else alright. In fact, they almost seemed _someone_ else. The Stephanie Plum I knew wouldn't sink so low as to use seduction to steal something. At least not from Ranger. And the Ranger I knew wouldn't have fallen for it. Maybe we were both off our game.


	22. Chapter 22

My instincts still told me there were answers waiting to be uncovered on Stark, but I wasn't dumb enough to go there on my own. I decided to call Lula.

"Hey girl," she answered. "I've got a good one for you."

"Yeah? What's up?"

"Well, first off, I finally had a talk with Tiny. That girl was being so annoying cuz her business just went belly-up, and she didn't have nowhere else to go. Go figure. Once we got that all out in the open things got a little less pain-in-the-assish. Then she gets a call from the place she bought my vacuum from asking if she wants a job. So we found her a place of her own and started moving her out of my place. Things have been _much_ better now that we aren't literally steppin' on each other's toes."

"Sounds like I missed a lot."

"Oh, that ain't nothin' girl. It gets better. So me and Tiny are out shoppin' yesterday, and who do you think we bump into?"

"Joyce Barnhardt."

"Not even close. We bump into that shoe snatcher skip that you and I tried to grab the other day."

"You mean Marsha McKinney?"

"Yeah, that's the one. We were in the shoe department at Macy's and there's that Marsha lady lookin' to steal another pair."

"So what happened?"

"She kinda recognized me before I could sneak up on her, so she started throwing some shoes at me, but I dodged them and tackled her. Bam! Then I sat on her while Tiny called Connie to bring her in. The security guards weren't thrilled about my take-down tactics, but once they realized that girl was goin' to steal hundreds more in shoes, they lightened up a bit. You shoulda been there. It was great!"

"Sounds like it," I laughed. Visualizing Lula sitting on Marsha was pretty comical, especially in the middle of Macy's shoe department.

"How you been, girl?" Lula asked. "I was worried about you after our last get-together."

"I'm doing alright, but I think I could be even better once I get some things taken care of. Which brings me to why I called you in the first place."

"Oh yeah, what's up?"

"You still got your contacts on Stark?"

"Some of 'em, why?"

"You remember Bruno?"

"You mean the disheveled guy who got roughed up by Mr. Muscles?"

"Yeah. I need to talk to him, and he seems to have disappeared. Since he was brought in on drug charges, I thought I might find some clues to his whereabouts on Stark. Maybe look into what gossip's circulating with the street walkers or floating around the bars?"

"Why not take Ranger? I think he's a little better at persuading people to talk, if you know what I mean."

"Already tried that approach. Something weird is going on, and it would help to have some ears on the inside. I figured you might have some connections that could help shed some light on the Bruno mystery."

"I'll see what I can do. I'm with Tiny right now locating some junk for her new place, but I can be ready in a few hours. What time do you want to meet up?"

"Sometime later this evening. I'll check back with you in a bit with more details."

"Sounds good. Check ya later."

"Bye." I hung up the phone and debated about my next call. I really needed to talk with Morelli, but I wasn't sure if he'd even answer the phone. I guess it was worth a shot. I dialed his number. The line picked up, but there was silence on the other end.

"Hey," I said. "You got a minute?"

"I'm at work," he said flatly.

"So that's a 'no?'"

"What do you want Stephanie?"

"Remember that case you mentioned at my parents' house the other night?"

"Yeah, I know the case. I'm still working it."

"Have you found any connections to a guy named Bruno?" There were several moments of dead air, and I could feel a serious tone settle in to Morelli's voice.

"Stephanie, I'm telling you as a cop to leave this case alone. Don't get involved. It's dangerous."

"I need to talk with Bruno. It's…kind of work related."

"I'm not buying it. Leave Bruno alone and stay off Stark." He paused for a moment and sighed. "Please."

I paused for a moment to pull together some confidence. "Given any thought to talking about things over dinner?" I asked quietly.

"I'm not ready yet. Stay safe, Steph. I lo… I'll talk to you later." The call ended and I slumped in my seat. Morelli was still miffed, and I wasn't any closer to finding Bruno. Hopefully I'd have more luck with Lula later.

I wasn't ready to head back to Rangeman because I was pretty sure once I set foot in the building, I'd have a house arrest anklet slapped on my foot and a twenty-four hour guard watching my every move. Morelli's place was probably a better option, but I wasn't sure I was welcome there right now, so I decided to head over to my apartment.

Over the last few weeks, I'd stopped by a handful of times to collect my mail, but pulling up to the brick building still felt a little strange. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure why I was still paying rent for the place. It had been kind of an escape plan initially. If things went south with Morelli, I always had the option to run back here. But it had been a really long time since I'd used it. Times were definitely changing, and to be honest, it was starting to feel less and less like home.

I took the rickety elevator up to the second floor and waved a greeting to a few familiar faces as I made my way down the hall. I was just about to put my key in the door when I got a weird feeling. I heard something rustling on the other side. Last I knew, I was the only tenant who lived here. I looked in my handbag for something that I could use for self-defense and only came up with a small bottle of hairspray. Good enough, right?

I cautiously opened the door and walked into the kitchen. There were beer cans and pizza boxes everywhere! A stack of mail was neatly organized on the counter and from what I could tell every piece of mail was still addressed to Stephanie Plum; I hadn't been evicted. Obviously someone was squatting in my apartment. I turned my attention toward the living room then suddenly heard something behind me.

"Aagh!" I shrieked, blindly shooting the hairspray at the large form behind me.

"Would you stop that?" a familiar voice yelled as a hand snatched the hairspray bottle away from me. Once the cloud of hairspray mist settled, I started to make out the person who was now standing next to me. He was around six feet tall with a muscular build, a black t-shirt, mussed sandy blond hair, a nice tan, and a grouchy disposition.

" _You_ ," I said with a glare. "Did you make all this mess?"

Diesel was still trying to rub the hairspray from his eyes. "What mess?"

"This," I said shoving an empty pizza box at him. "And these," I added stacking the box with empty beer cans.

"You didn't have any food. I had to improvise."

"You shouldn't even be here. This is _my_ apartment."

"Oh yeah? You haven't been back here in at least a week. I was thinking the guys in charge got this all wrong when they sent me here, but here you are, so I guess they got _something_ right."

"And why _are_ you here exactly?" I asked feeling annoyed. Diesel always seemed to pop into my life at the worst possible times. "And why have you been collecting my mail?"

"I was trying to be nice," he said tugging my ponytail. "And I think we're tracking the same guy. You're looking for Bruno, right?"

"What does Bruno have to do with _you_?"

Diesel raised an eyebrow. "Think about it." I didn't have to think about it. If Diesel was here looking for Bruno, chances are that Bruno belonged to the same group of abnormal human beings that Diesel belonged to. They had special abilities like mind reading, lock tripping, and smelling like Christmas. Some of them even had the annoying tendency of being irresistibly attractive. It made staying angry at people like Diesel very difficult.

"So you're done being mad at me?" he asked with a grin.

"Not even a little," I replied, but even I could tell the statement lacked conviction.

"Yes you are," he smiled. "Good, because I need your help. I was late to the party last time when you and your friend caught up with Bruno. He was already being escorted out of the building by the time I got there, and the next thing I know, he'd given the police the slip. I'm thinking he probably had some help from the inside, but if we don't get him back where he needs to be soon, I'm afraid the world might come to an early end."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

"Well, kind of. But you get the picture. He's kind of a big deal."

"Bruno? The guy was picked up on drug charges," I said rolling my eyes.

"Ah, that's what they want you to believe," Diesel said with a smile. "It was a set-up. _Someone_ wanted him out of the picture, but good ole Bruno's still got some tricks up his sleeve. Too bad he's a little hard to track without your help."

"Me?" I asked. "I haven't had a single shred of luck finding the guy. You'd have better luck with my…well, my…Morelli. He's been working a case that I think might be related."

Diesel started pacing the floor. "Interesting," he muttered. "Maybe _that's_ the connection."

"What?" I asked.

"I need to go do some groundwork. I'll call if I find out anything new." And just like that Diesel was gone. Ok, so he didn't vanish into thin air. He quickly exited the apartment through the door. Still, during our previous encounters there had been times when I was pretty sure he _did_ vanish into thin air. It was somehow related to being one of those super humans.

I wasn't exactly sure what to do next, so I started going around the apartment and picking up the trash that was scattered everywhere. After taking a load out to the dumpster, I felt like the space was starting to look a little less Diesel-y. Thankfully from what I could tell, Diesel's pet monkey and former acquaintance of mine, Carl, wasn't along for this mission. Monkey mess was usually much worse to clean than Diesel mess. Usually. I frowned as I noticed a new pizza sauce stain on the couch.

My next order of business was to toss the sheets on my bed. Diesel was notorious for sleeping sans clothing, and the bed definitely looked slept in. The whole thing was obviously crawling with Diesel cooties. And ironically smelled like freshly baked cookies. After shoving everything into a trash bag, it occurred to me that the process was probably a joke. Diesel would be back later and would undoubtedly claim the bed again. I pulled the sheets out of the bag and put them haphazardly back in place.

I started rummaging through the closet finding odds and ends that hadn't made it over to Morelli's yet. There was a pair of sweats, a holey pair of jeans, a few t-shirts, and a jacket that had never fit right. I grabbed the sweats and a t-shirt and went and hopped in the shower. Hopefully it would give me a chance to think deeper on this whole Bruno situation.

Thirty minutes later and I was feeling like a whole new woman. Well, kind of anyway. My hair dryer was over at Morelli's, so my hair was a frizzy mess. I pulled it back into a ponytail as best I could and sent Lula a text with a tentative time to meet up later. Diesel walked through the door just as I'd settled down to watch some reruns on TV.

"We've got a problem," he said as he slumped on the couch next to me. I stared at him waiting for an explanation. "I take it from your sudden appearance here that you're on the outs with your boyfriend right now. Sound about right?"

"Kind of. I'm waiting on a dinner invitation to clear some things up." Diesel looked at me like I was an idiot.

"Whatever. What are the odds that things will clear up sooner than later? As in _much_ sooner?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "It depends on how bad I screwed things up this time. Why?"

"We need your boyfriend to spill some crucial beans. I have a feeling he's hiding Bruno somewhere, and being a cop, he's done a fairly thorough job at covering his tracks. Your beau's got some brains, I'll give him that."

"What makes you think he's hiding Bruno somewhere?"

"Just a hunch. I'm good with hunches, remember?" Diesel gave me one of his dazzling smiles. Ugh! He was so obnoxiously charming sometimes.

"So you want me to get him to tell me where Bruno is?"

"Yeah and ASAP because we really needed this information like yesterday. Obviously there's someone else looking for him."

"I hate to break it to you, but I doubt I'm going to get anywhere near that information. First off, Morelli and I are not on great speaking terms right now, and second, he just gave me one of his 'stay the hell away from this case' speeches. He's worried about its impact on my safety."

"He should be _more_ worried about its impact on everyone else's safety. Without Bruno, there are going to be some serious chaos problems around here. It'll make the shootings and gang fights on Stark look like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade."

I sighed. "Well, maybe we don't need Morelli. I'm supposed to go out with Lula later. She's got some connections on Stark that might know where he is. It's worth a shot, right?" Diesel gave me another look like I was a complete idiot.

"It was difficult enough for me to figure out that your boy toy was involved here. What makes you think some random street walker on Stark is going to know Bruno's location?"

I hated to admit it, but Diesel was probably right. Bruno _could_ be involved in Morelli's case. Maybe something had gone all wrong with the drugs and the shootings and now he was in hiding. If that was the case, I guess it would make sense that only a few people would be privy to his whereabouts. Like a cop needing some crucial case-related information from him. Maybe he was a testifying witness for a court case coming up.

"So what's the plan then?" I asked.

"You need to go get yourself gussied up and seduce the crap out of your boyfriend."

I rolled my eyes. "He's not stupid, you know. He'll figure out that I'm up to something. Then I'll just be in more trouble with him. It's a really stupid idea."

"Well sweetheart, it's about the only one we've got right now. The clock's ticking, and I'm afraid Bruno's time is running out." Diesel stood and headed over to the kitchen. "You could practice with me first if you want," he said with a sly smile as he grabbed a beer from the fridge.

This elicited the biggest eye roll I've ever attempted. I nearly fell over from the momentum.

"Good grief," I muttered. Then my stomach rumbled. "Is there anything decent worth eating in there?" I called.

"Is a jar of olives considered decent?" he asked.

"Toss it over." I glanced at the expiration date. Good enough.

I sat eating the olives and pretended to watch the TV. Meanwhile my mind was still mulling over the Bruno case. If Morelli was in charge of Bruno's safety, then he'd want him somewhere close by. From what I could tell, Bruno wasn't staying at Morelli's house. It was possible that the cops had some sort of local safe house, but it wasn't super likely. The police department's budget was pretty tight. Suddenly something silly popped in my head. The idea was absurd, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it.

"What are you doing?" Diesel asked as I got up from the couch.

"Calling Lula. I need to tell her the plans for this evening have changed."


	23. Chapter 23

Lula pulled up in her Firebird about an hour later. Tiny was in the passenger seat.

"Maybe we should take Ranger's Cayenne," I said. "Your car's kind of easy to identify."

Lula shrugged. "Are we gonna have to worry about someone identifying us?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I'm going off a hunch, and I'm not really sure what to expect."

The girls parked Lula's car and hopped out. I unlocked the black Porsche and we all piled in.

"How'd you end up with one of the Bat Mobiles anyway?" Lula asked. "Did Ranger leave it to you in his will? I heard about the poison stuff from Connie."

I shook my head. "He's not dead. Probably still pissed, but definitely not dead." I relayed the story of my escape from Rangeman. Lula sat staring at me for several moments before a huge grin spread across her face. Tiny's mouth was hanging open in the back seat.

"I didn't think you had it in you, girl!" Lula laughed. "Using your 'romantic wiles' like that. And on Batman no less! Shit, I never thought I'd see the day." I still wasn't very proud of it. "I have to admit though, I don't think I would've wasted an opportunity like that." After today, I was wondering if there would ever be another opportunity. Maybe it was for the best if there wasn't.

We made our way to a familiar neighborhood and I tried to find a place to park that wasn't too conspicuous.

"Uh uh," Lula started. "No freakin' way."

"What's the matter?" Tiny asked.

Lula turned and looked at the house that was the focus of our mission. "You didn't say nothin' about coming over here. I got me a bad feeling about all this. That house gives me the willies."

To be honest, it gave me the willies too. We were sitting not too far from Mama Morelli's place. It was almost the exact same as I remembered it growing up. Angie Morelli was an intimidating force to be reckoned with. She was well known for her Italian delicacies, and her home was kept to immaculate perfection. However, it wasn't just Angie Morelli that had me worried. It was Joe's Grandma Bella that could make my blood run cold.

The woman barely came up to my shoulders, but her petite form didn't fool anyone. She claimed she could see the future, and it was anybody's guess if this statement was actually true. It was a completely different story with her ability to curse people. She had cursed me on a number of occasions, mostly having to do with her constant disgust at my having a relationship with her favorite grandson. From what I could tell, these curses were all highly successful in continually adding stress and mayhem to my life. Ok, maybe Grandma Bella wasn't always _entirely_ to blame, but the woman still gave me the creeps.

"Lula's just freaked because there's a crazy woman who lives in that house over there. She's old-school Italian, she curses people, and she's a little on the scary side. But the good news is that we're kind of almost related. She wouldn't curse an almost-relative, right?"

Lula gave me a look. "Whatever makes you sleep at night," she sighed. "What are we here looking for anyway?"

"I'm thinking Bruno is in there," I said pulling some binoculars from my handbag.

"Bruno?" Lula asked incredulously. "Bruno's holed up in _there_? What do the Morellis have to do with Bruno?"

"They don't. Morelli trusts family, and I think they're providing a safe house for Bruno as a favor to Morelli. I'm pretty sure it has to do with the case he's working."

"Bruno's hiding out _here_. I think I'd rather be in prison."

"All we have to do is confirm Bruno's location, get Diesel over here, and Bruno can probably just get back to being Bruno. Or something like that. I haven't exactly worked out all the details." I leaned closer to the windshield to try to get a good view of the front window.

"You didn't tell me Diesel was in town again," Lula said. She got a funny smile. "You shacking up with him? Is that what all this added drama has been about?"

"No!" I snapped. "Diesel's nothing but a giant pain in the backside, but he's involved with this whole Bruno mess and subsequently so am I. If we can get this whole situation taken care of, I can check one more thing off my crazy to-do list. And Diesel will probably just disappear into thin air like he always does."

Tiny who had been sitting quietly in the back leaned in to join the conversation. "He's a hit-it-and-quit-it type?" she asked.

"What? No! I _wouldn't_ know. That's not what this is about," I added. Tiny wasn't buying it and sat waiting for an explanation. "Diesel works for…an exclusive organization. He needs my help every now and then to find people. I've _only_ hung around him in a _professional_ capacity."

Lula laughed. "Aw, c'mon, admit it. You've thought about shacking up with him before." She turned back to Tiny. "But we think he's a alien. He's fine, smells like cookies or some shit, _and_ he has special abilities. All signs definitely point to alien."

I shook my head. "He's not an alien. He's more of a 'gifted' human being." Who probably came from outer space.

Suddenly I noticed some movement from the Morelli house. I leaned closer to the windshield with the binoculars to get a better look. A pudgy form walked in front of the window. I was fairly confident it was Bruno. Finally, a hunch that had paid off! I was just about to do a victory dance when a tap on my window scared me out of my wits. It was Diesel.

I rolled down the window. "What are _you_ doing here?" I scowled. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Diesel did one of his charming smiles. "I get that a lot. Usually under different circumstances. Good job finding Bruno. Although I still think we have another problem to deal with."

I rolled my eyes. "What now?"

"We've probably gotta find the guy who's been hunting Bruno. If we don't, Bruno could still wind up dead, and then the whole world will come to an end." Lula and Tiny made gasping sounds.

"Quit being so dramatic," I scowled. "I take it you have a plan on how to find said person?"

"Still working on it. Probably better leave Bruno here for the time being. Trust the cop's instincts. Think he'll be ok?"

If I were Bruno, I'd be debating about jumping off the roof or out a window, but one more day probably wasn't going to make a big difference.

"You get twenty-four hours," I said. "Then I really want this whole mess done and over with."

"Aye aye, captain," Diesel said giving me a salute. He started walking back down the sidewalk. By the time I rolled up the window, he had already disappeared.

"Whoa," Tiny said. "That was a little weird."

"Welcome to my life," I sighed.


	24. Chapter 24

I dropped the girls off back at my apartment complex to pick up their car then I took a moment to think. I hadn't heard anything from Ranger, which I took as a good sign. And I really wanted to talk to Morelli. We still had some things we needed to resolve. The sooner, the better.

I decided I probably needed to wear something besides sweats for a chat with Morelli, so I went back up to my apartment and grabbed the holey jeans and an old stretchy t-shirt with a deep V-neck. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it definitely trumped the sweats. I tried to do something with my hair, but it refused to cooperate, so it went back into a crazy ponytail. After a few additional minutes of primping, I decided I was more or less ready to go.

The whole drive over I spent thinking about what I wanted to say. But it all sounded painfully stupid. If I started with the business side of things, then it would seem like I didn't care about the obvious personal mess we were in, and if I started with the personal stuff… I was terrified to start with the personal stuff. That was all there was to it.

I pulled up to Morelli's house and had a brief panic attack. I probably should have called before ambushing him like this. Oh well. I was here, and there were some things I really needed to get off my chest. Like the truth.

Resorting to old habits and forgetting I probably wasn't currently considered a resident of the house, I used my key to unlock the door. I thought about closing it again and knocking, but I'd already made the faux pas. I took a few steps through the door then started to call out for Morelli.

I was struck by how quiet the house seemed. The lights were all off, and I had yet to see Bob who always ambushed me within seconds of my arrival. I walked back to the front door and glanced outside. Morelli's SUV was parked out front. The porch lights had been on. All signs indicated he was home. Maybe he had gone to bed early.

I thought about leaving, but I wanted to make sure everything was ok before I did. Just to be sure. I flipped on some lights and started making my way up to the bedroom. Still no sign of Bob, which was very unsettling. The bedroom door was shut; I slowly opened it.

Before my eyes adjusted to the darkness, the room looked mostly normal. There was a form in the bed and some clothes were scattered around the room like they always were when Morelli had the house to himself. Upon closer inspection, my stomach did a flip-flop. There were obvious signs of a scuffle. The lamp was knocked over, a dark form strongly resembling a gun was on the floor, and there were dark smears on the wall. I held my breath as I flipped on the light.

It looked like a scene from a horror movie. Bloody smears were along the walls and a large streak of red on the carpet led to the bed. I pulled back the covers and screamed. Morelli was unconscious and lying in a growing pool of his own blood. The screaming stopped but probably because I had now shifted to hyperventilating.

I tried to put pressure on the wound, but I knew I still needed to call for help. My mind couldn't handle the trauma, and when I unlocked my phone, I couldn't think of the number to dial. It was three numbers, right? Why couldn't I think of three numbers?

My hands were too bloody, and all I could make sense of was the paling face of the man dying in front of me. Maybe he was already dead. I begged him not to be dead as I pressed and held the zero to dial the operator. Someone's distant voice answered, and I somehow managed to tell them to call an ambulance and send it to Morelli's place. Thank goodness they didn't ask for the address because at the moment I couldn't remember that either.

My phone fell to the floor, and I went back to putting pressure on the wound trying to ignore the sobs that were trying to escape from somewhere deep down. I heard someone muttering things, gibberish and words that I couldn't make any sense of. It was probably me. I'd apparently lost it.

There was a brief moment when I worried that I wasn't alone in the house. But I decided at this point, it really didn't matter. If I was going to lose Joe Morelli, I no longer cared what happened to me.

After what felt like an eternity, I saw faint flickers of flashing lights outside and heard footsteps climbing the stairs. I think I must have still been muttering gibberish because a paramedic came and started talking to me _very_ slowly. He took my blood pressure and checked my eyes with a tiny flashlight while everyone else started working on Morelli. The clatter around me wasn't processing. I opened my mouth to tell someone I needed help, but a terrified scream escaped instead, and I collapsed on the floor.

When I came to, I was somewhere familiar but I couldn't immediately put my finger on where. Someone had their arms around me, but it wasn't who I would have expected.

"Dad?" I said before a wave of tears began. I was in my parents' living room.

"Yeah sweetheart," he said pulling me a little closer. "Your mom got that call and her face went white as a sheet. I was so worried… We came and got you as soon as we could. Do you think you need to see a doctor?" I slowly shook my head.

My dad is usually a man of few words unless he's talking sports or threatening Grandma Mazur. I was a bit taken aback by his sudden display of sentimental emotion, but it felt surprisingly good. He'd never shown the level of concern my mother often exhibited when ranting about my job; all this time he'd been worried about me too.

Suddenly a shaggy form bounded out of the kitchen and dutifully plopped down beside me, placing his slobbery face on my knee and looking up at me forlornly.

"Bob!" I cried throwing my arms around his neck. "You're a good dog," I sniffed. "Good dog."

After my sobbing had subsided a little, my dad leaned over and pet Bob's head too.

"We found this guy a street over. He was sitting on someone's lawn near some freshly rooted flowers. Apparently he had gotten out of the yard and went on a digging spree."

Normally I would have given Bob the shaming speech for digging. _And_ getting out of the yard again. But the silly dog's need for uprooting greenery had probably saved his life. I couldn't bring myself to ask about Morelli.

"He's still in surgery, I think," my dad offered. He must have sensed the question that I couldn't ask. I was relieved to hear that he wasn't dead. "When you're ready, I can take you to the hospital," he added softly.

I wasn't sure I'd ever be ready. What if I was there when the doctors came out with those solemn, grim expressions? I didn't think I could handle it. But if there was a chance that he did miraculously pull through all of this, I decided I probably wanted to be there when he woke up.

Carefully, I tried standing. My legs still felt like limp spaghetti.

"We don't have to leave right this minute," my dad said grabbing my elbow to help steady me.

"I'd like to be there," I said. "Besides, I don't think it matters where I wait; I'll go crazy anywhere. Maybe it's better to be at the hospital." My dad nodded and walked me to the door.

"Wanna take the Buick?" he asked. The powder blue '53 Buick seemed to always find its way back into my life; today, I was surprised to find the intrusion welcome.

"Sure," I said. And just like that, the three of us made our way over to the hospital.


	25. Chapter 25

The waiting room at the hospital was littered with the Morelli clan. A few nieces and nephews played with toys quietly on the floor. Joe's brother was there, a few cousins, and his mother. Thankfully I didn't see any sign of Grandma Bella. Maybe she had already been thrown out for trying to put curses on the surgeons attempting to operate on Joe.

His mother saw me first. She didn't exactly look happy to see me, but she didn't look mad either. Mostly she looked tired and worried. I couldn't blame her. Her son's life was probably hanging by a thread.

My dad and I quietly took a seat, and I grabbed a magazine from the side table. Joe's brother, Tony, made his way over and sat down next to me.

"How are you holding up?" he asked sympathetically. "They say you were the one who found him."

The tears had started before he'd even finished the question.

"I don't know," I answered honestly, wiping at my eyes. Tony handed me a tissue.

"You talked to the police yet?" he asked. I shook my head then blew my nose.

"I'm a little surprised there aren't any uniforms hanging around here. Joe had a lot of friends at the station."

"They're all pouring over the case. Everyone wants to find the scumbag who did this." I could see a flash of fury in Tony's eyes. It reminded me a lot of Joe. I swallowed back a sob. He pat my shoulder then went back over to be with the family.

I leaned my head on my dad's shoulder; he gently draped his arm over me. Tears dripped over my nose and accumulated in a small damp spot on his shirt.

"Sorry," I sniffed. "I'm making a mess all over you." He looked at me and took my hand in his.

"Stephanie, you can make whatever mess you want. You don't have to pretend to be ok. You're worried and scared, and that's normal. Do whatever you need to. I'll be right here."

We sat for several moments just waiting. Finally a surgeon came through the doors and walked over to Mrs. Morelli. She looked pale as a ghost. The surgeon was obviously concerned, but it didn't look like he was offering his condolences yet. I walked over to get the most recent updates.

"They finished the first surgery," Morelli's mom said to the group, her voice raspy and emotional. "He's stable for now, but they're going to have to do a second surgery. We'll know more about his condition in a few hours."

It was late and everyone was looking exhausted. I started pacing over in the corner not knowing what else to do with myself. The fact that I was at a hospital gave me an idea. I told my dad I had something to take care of and made my way over to the nurses' station. After a quick phone call, the nurse nodded me over and handed me directions to another wing of the hospital. Fortunately this probably wouldn't take very long.

By the time I made it back to the waiting room, there was a whole new group of Morellis scattered around. Joe's mother and brother were still in the mix, but the kids had all gone home to bed and had been replaced with a few aunts, uncles, and cousins. Another familiar face had joined the group as well. Eddie Gazarra sat amongst the group. He worked for the Trenton PD with Joe and was related to me by marriage. His eyes met mine, and he started making his way over to me once I'd taken a seat.

"Hey Steph," he said. "How're you doing?"

"Been better," I sighed. "What brings you here? I thought all the uniforms were working Morelli's case."

"I am," he answered. He looked slightly uncomfortable. "I need to talk with you. Alone would probably be best."

I didn't like the look he was giving me. "Can it wait?" I asked. "Morelli's supposed to be out of surgery soon." Eddie frowned.

"We have a suspect," he said. "But I need to go over some things with you first." There was obviously something he wasn't telling me. Maybe _I_ was the murder suspect. I decided it was probably best to clear up the details, so I followed Eddie to a conference room he'd arranged on another floor.

"Cut the crap, Eddie," I said after taking a seat. "What's going on?"

"Steph, I know that you've been with Morelli for a while, and I also know your relationship is kind of…well, rocky sometimes. Whose isn't, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Get to the point Gazarra."

"Have you been seeing someone else lately?" he asked.

"No."

"How about him?" Eddie slid a photo over the table. Two dark and familiar eyes stared back at me. It was Ranger.

"We work together sometimes, but no, I haven't been seeing him. What does he have to do with any of this?"

"When was the last time you saw him?" Eddie asked. I thought about it for a moment. It had been earlier that afternoon.

"Earlier today. I've been helping him with a case." Eddie stared at me, his cop eyes searching mine for the truth.

"Have you ever suspected he might have romantic feelings for you?" That was a dumb question. I was _always_ trying to figure out the feelings Ranger had for me. But that was something between Ranger and me.

"I don't know. Maybe. Why?"

"They found a vase of dead roses at Morelli's house. Manoso's prints were on it. There was also a note saying 'stay away from her' on the counter. We found a knife buried in the backyard covered in Morelli's blood. Care to guess whose prints were on it?" Eddie paused. "I know what you're probably thinking. Set up, right? But according to some phone records, there was also a phone call made earlier today." He glanced at his watch. "More like yesterday. Steph, the evidence is pretty damning."

I sat numbly in my chair contemplating the situation. It was true I couldn't account for Ranger's whereabouts at the time of the attempted murder, but regardless of the circumstances, I couldn't visualize him attacking Morelli. At least not with the intent to kill him.

And on another slightly disturbing note, Ranger wouldn't have been that sloppy if he'd wanted Morelli dead. There had been a few times over the years when I'd suspected Ranger had made some dangerous people disappear. Permanently. But that was just it. He did it without leaving a trace. He wouldn't have left a murder weapon out in the open like that. Heck, there probably wouldn't have even been a body to find.

"It's not him," I said. "Someone's gotta be setting him up."

"I figured you'd say that," Eddie responded. "I just wanted to let you know. He's currently our number one suspect. Of course, we're having a little difficulty finding him right now. If he contacts you, make sure you tell him running from the cops only adds to the appearance of guilt."

Ranger was probably already in the wind, and I couldn't blame him. Obviously someone wanted him in jail or on the run. They were limiting his resources and playing the situation to their advantage. It was downright scary.

"I should probably get back upstairs," I said after a moment. "Keep me posted on the case." Eddie nodded, and we parted ways.

After a stop at the vending machines, I made my way back to the OR waiting room. Everyone was restless, obviously still waiting to hear news on the outcome of the second surgery. I sat in the chair next to my dad who had dozed off while waiting for me to return.

"You should head home," I said patting his shoulder. "I'll be fine for now." He looked at me with an edge of concern.

"No, no. That's ok. No updates then?" he asked groggily. I shook my head.

"Go on home, Dad. I'll be fine. I really appreciate you coming here with me. It means a lot." I hugged him. After several more minutes of my insisting, he finally agreed to call it a night, and I walked him back to the elevator.

"I'll swing by first thing tomorrow," he said while we waited for the elevator. "Call if you need anything. _Anything_ , ok?" I nodded.

"Thanks, Dad."

After he left, I started heading back to the waiting room but stopped midway. I'd already eaten my way through three candy bars and read through the entire stack of hospital magazines. If I had to stare at that stupid waiting room clock one more minute, I'd probably lose my mind. I decided I needed some fresh air.


	26. Chapter 26

It was a little surprising how many vehicles were still parked in the hospital parking lot when I reached the ground floor. It was practically the middle of the night, but I guess emergencies weren't restricted to daylight hours. The cool air gave me a shiver; I welcomed the briskness of it. It gave my mind an opportunity to sort through some of the thoughts and emotions I hadn't had time to process yet.

Tears suddenly flooded my eyes and almost kept me from noticing that small prickling sensation of the hairs rising on the back of my neck. I spun around and noticed a dark hooded figure rapidly approaching me. I turned and started to run, but an arm reached out and caught mine. My skin warmed under the touch, and I sucked in a quick breath.

"Geez!" I said in a forced whisper, my whole body shaking. "You scared the hell out of me!"

Ranger quickly pulled me into a shadowy spot away from the well-lit parking lot. "I didn't mean to scare you," he whispered. "But I needed to talk with you. I've been hanging out here for some time wondering how best to get your attention." He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt from his head. Even in the darkness, I could tell his eyes looked tired.

"You look terrible," I frowned.

"It's been a long day. How are you holding up?" he asked. It was a loaded question, and I wasn't really ready to answer it.

"I've definitely been better."

"And Morelli?"

I shook my head, and the tears instantly welled up behind my eyes again. "Touch and go. I take it you already know that you're a suspect." Ranger nodded, his eyes dark and serious.

"I need to lay low for a while, and I won't have access to my equipment at Rangeman. That being said, I came to let you know it would be in your best interest to come with me. Our guy is still out there, and I won't be able to protect you from a distance like that."

I took a few steps back and started shaking my head. "No. My answer is no. I don't care about my safety anymore. Morelli is up there hanging on by a thread, and you're asking me to _leave_? You must be out of your mind."

"Stephanie, please." The words took me by surprise. They were rarely used by Ranger and only reiterated the intensity of the situation. "I've narrowed the suspect list," he added quietly. "And I don't like the final candidates."

We stood there for a moment as I debated my next response. Ranger's eyes never left mine, and for a moment I wondered if he was trying his mind-reading thing again. If he was successful, he probably didn't like where my thoughts had settled. I shook my head.

"I can't. Not now." Ranger's face didn't change. All signs of emotion were locked away leaving his external features eerily hollow and vacant. He didn't even try to change my mind. Instead, he pulled the hood back over his head and started walking away.

Suddenly we were both blinded by a sharp stream of light. I couldn't make out the person behind it until he started talking.

"Ricardo Carlos Manoso, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Officer Joe Morelli." It was Eddie. Apparently he had been following me. There were two more officers behind him. They had their hands resting on their gun holsters.

I stole a glance at Ranger wondering what he was planning to do next. Given his athleticism and agility, he could probably outrun the cops, but it wouldn't look good. He had a company and clients to think about. His business could suffer if people didn't trust him.

Ranger caught my eye as one of the officers put him in handcuffs. His face was still vacant, and the look was terribly unsettling. They walked him over to the waiting police car and finished reading him his Miranda Rights. The speech wasn't exactly necessary. Ranger wasn't going to say anything anyway. Eddie hung back to talk with me.

"Sorry Steph," he said looking uncomfortable. His sheepish apology had me fuming. "I had to follow the leads."

"Yeah?" I asked starting to feel hysterical. "I'll give you a new lead to follow." I hauled back and socked him in the jaw. Eddie stared back at me with a dazed expression.

"Geez," he mumbled rubbing his mouth. "You're lucky I didn't bring you in too under aiding and abetting. I tried to give you a head's up, and this is the thanks I get. You've got a lot of nerve."

I stormed past him, purposely ramming his shoulder with mine. I watched from the hospital entrance as Eddie hopped in the police cruiser and headed toward the station with Ranger. It was probably one of the strangest things I'd ever seen. And in my line of work, I've seen plenty.

Without a car, I had nowhere to go, so once again I made my way back up to the waiting room. Morelli's mom was in a corner crying. She wasn't hysterical, but I still felt my stomach do a flip-flop. The news from the second surgery obviously hadn't been good.

Tony saw me walk in and came over to give me the updates. "He lost a lot of blood," he said quietly. "The surgeries are done, and he's patched up for now, but it's kind of a waiting game at this point. They've got him on a respirator. They're not sure…" He glanced over at his mom. "It's not sounding too good."

I think I wanted to cry, but at that very moment there didn't seem to be anything left _to_ cry. My tear ducts had apparently run dry. I just stood there numb and dazed. Morelli's and my thirty-plus year run of being in and out of each other's lives appeared to be coming to an end. It was probably the single most devastating revelation I've ever had.

"Can I see him?" I asked, my voice caught in my throat. Tony shrugged.

"You can check with the nurse. So far they haven't let anyone go back."

I'd give it a few minutes. Seeing Morelli on a respirator was like my worst nightmare coming true. I wasn't ready for it to be a reality. In the meantime, I needed to move. I needed to pace and yell and basically allow myself to go a little crazy. The waiting room wouldn't be a good location for that, so I decided to find a quiet stairwell and let loose.

Fortunately I found a vacant one not too far away because I was ready to self-combust at any moment. I shouted the longest stream of profanities I'd ever constructed then started running up and down the stairs like a madwoman. If anyone would have come upon me at that moment, they probably would have hastily admitted me to the psych ward.

After several loops on the stairs I was feeling more tired and less combustible, so I started to slow my pace. Unfortunately when your body isn't used to exerting such high levels of energy, it seems to go into almost immediate shutdown mode. This doesn't exactly bode well for someone trying to go down stairs. My legs were already morphing to jelly, so I missed a step and fell down what remained of the stairwell. I was still too upset about other things to be phased by it.

A man in surgical scrubs suddenly appeared and came over to help me up.

"Are you all right?" he asked with a hint of an accent.

"Probably not, but I think I can almost stand up." He helped me to my feet. "You should be more careful." It was something about the way he said it that got my attention. He was still wearing his surgical mask, but his eyes were clearly visible. An unmistakable crystal blue.

Had my thoughts been less muddled by all the emotional stuff going on, I might have thought to rip the mask from his face and get a better look at him. He was, after all, the person Ranger and I had been trying to identify for the better part of a week. Unfortunately, he had obviously planned this whole encounter. In one fluid movement, he slapped handcuffs on my wrists around the stair railing. He kicked my foot out from under me making me fall back hard against the steps. He leaned over, so his face was inches from mine.

"Prison won't protect your boyfriend from me," he hissed. "When you're both ready, come and find me." He tucked a small piece of paper into my shoe. I thought about kicking him, but what was the point? I was mad, that was the point! Before he had a chance to stand up, I swiftly brought my foot to his face. It connected, and I heard a satisfying crunch as he recoiled in pain.

Fire flashed through those crystal eyes as he lunged at me, but something stopped him before his hands fully tightened around my neck. He righted himself and brushed off his scrubs apparently trying to regain some control. His surgical mask was now dripping from all the blood. It was a horrifying sight.

"Until our next meeting, Ms. Plum," he said as he walked off toward the emergency exit.

Perfect. Now I was trapped in a stairwell. Joe was dying. Ranger was in prison. And it was anyone's guess where Diesel was. I would have given anything at that moment to be anyone other than Stephanie Plum.

After about thirty minutes of me yelling into the echoing stairwell, someone finally found me. Unfortunately it took another twenty minutes before they could find someone to unlock the cuffs. If Ranger was ever released from prison, I was going to ask him for one of those handy handcuff unlock-y things. It was kind of shocking how often I seemed to need one.

Thankfully I hadn't missed any new updates on Morelli by the time I finally made it back. A few more family members had gone home and some were dozing in the waiting room chairs. A nurse waved me over to the nurses' station.

"These came back while you were gone," she said handing me some papers. I wasn't sure if she'd looked at them. If she had, she was doing a really good job at keeping a poker face. There was a brief moment when I really wanted to look at them, but finally I decided I couldn't. Not with things the way they were. I carefully folded them up and put them in a pocket for later. It was apparently time for more pacing.

Oddly enough, I found myself walking back to the stairwell that I had been previously handcuffed to. A custodian was cleaning and sanitizing the floor.

"Oh, sorry, am I in your way?" he asked as he tried to move his cart out of my path. I shook my head.

"Actually, could I have one of those soiled cleaning cloths?" He looked at me like I was crazy.

"Lady, this stuff is contaminated. Someone had a bloody nose or something. If I give you one of these, it could spread illness or disease. I'm not willing to risk it."

"Please," I begged. "It's a matter of life and death. That blood is critical to an investigation and without it… Just give me the freakin' rag." I snatched it out of his hands without thinking.

He stood frozen for a moment apparently unsure what to do next. I took those moments of hesitation to run as fast as I could down the stairs. Not such an easy task for someone with insane muscle fatigue. By the time I reached the ground level, I couldn't hear him yelling after me anymore. But I had my blood sample. Now I just needed to figure out what to do with it.


	27. Chapter 27

I was still stranded at the hospital. My dad was due to show up probably in an hour or two, but I had a bad feeling I'd ruined my reputation with the hospital already, so I decided to start walking. Halfway down the street a strange thought occurred to me.

Ranger must have had some mode of transportation to get to the hospital in the first place, and obviously he had left in a police car. Therefore, somewhere in that parking lot was bound to be a sleek, black Rangeman vehicle. Hopefully it wouldn't be too difficult to locate.

Sure enough, off in a secluded corner there was a shiny, black SUV. Thankfully a Rangeman employee hadn't been by to collect it. Of course, that still left me with the problem of how to enter and drive the vehicle. It's not like I had a set of…

I dug into my pockets. That man was an undeniable genius! At some point during our conversation in the shadows, Ranger must have slipped the keys into my jeans pocket. Not an easy task, mind you. These pants were pretty form-fitting. I also found a small piece of paper. "Stay safe, babe. Good luck." If I didn't know any better, I'd think Ranger had this whole scenario planned. I'm not exactly sure why he'd want to wind up in prison, but if that's what Batman thought was best, then who was I to judge?

I hopped into the SUV and sped off toward my apartment. With any luck Diesel would be there. And with any luck beyond that, he would have already found the guy who wanted Bruno dead. Maybe he could even use his stupid human tricks to figure out who'd gone after Morelli.

I made my way up to my apartment. Once inside, I caught a glance of myself in the hall mirror. I was a disaster! My eyes were red and puffy from all the continuous crying, my hair looked like I'd shoved my finger in a light socket; overall, I just looked like a complete disheveled mess. Maybe my first priority should be a shower.

As I was drying off and debating what to do about my lack-of-clean-clothing situation, I heard a light tap on the bathroom door. I jumped five feet in the air and wondered if the surgeon of doom had followed me back to my apartment. Although it _was_ a possibility, I didn't think he'd bother with the formality of knocking. I cracked it open and peered out.

"Oh my gosh!" I gasped looking at Diesel. "What happened to _you_?"

"Long story," he shrugged flopping down on my bed. He had a busted lip, the drying remnants of a bloody nose, and his left eye was turning colors. His shirt was torn and his arm was tucked in close to his body. "Ever try wrestling a guy that kinda resembles a rhinoceros?"

I thought back to the encounter I'd had with the Rhino at Bruno's place. It wasn't a pleasant memory.

We walked and hobbled out to the kitchen respectively, and I grabbed a wet dish cloth. I tossed it over to Diesel who had already slumped on the couch. He put the whole thing over his face.

"That's to _clean_ your face," I said taking a seat next to him.

"It _is_ cleaning my face," he mumbled under the cloth. I pulled it off and started to gently wipe away the dried blood from his lip and nose.

"You're cute when you're worried," he said trying to smile. The busted lip would probably hinder his charm for a while.

"How worried should I be?" I asked rolling the dish cloth and putting it over his eye.

"Turns out your boyfriend had some leads on the Bruno case, which I kind of figured. I snuck in his house after some of the drama had died down, but apparently I wasn't the only one who wanted access to his computer files. This ginormous beast of a guy ambushed me just as the computer was booting up."

"Why didn't you just do your whole disappearing act?" I asked.

"It's kinda hard to think clearly when you're having the crap beat out of you. To be honest, this," he said pointing to his face, "Could have been a whole lot worse. Apparently my being tossed around the house like a rag doll was a decently noisy event because this little old lady comes barging in through the door with enough rage and fury to start World War III. She's yelling obscenities at the both of us then settles her attention on the Rhino. She said something about bullies, I heard a zappy sound, and the next thing I know the Rhino is completely unconscious on top of me." He paused. "Remind me never to mess with any of Morelli's neighbors." He glanced down at his arm. "I think I'm gonna need an X-ray on the arm Rhino-guy crushed."

"Can't you do that yourself with your X-ray vision?" I asked sarcastically.

"Pretty sure I don't have that ability. Although sometimes I can see a girl's underwear if I focus really hard. But that might just be a result of highly concentrated imagining. I'll need to do some more case studies to be entirely sure."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "You'll have to do your case studies on someone else." I got up and grabbed a couple glasses of water from the kitchen. "Did you find the guy after Bruno?"

Diesel took a sip through the corner of his mouth. "I've got a lead and a probable location. Give me a few minutes to catch my breath, and I'll get this whole mess taken care of."

"What did you do with the Rhino?" I asked.

"Tied him up. Wrote a creative confession letter for the cop attack. Called the cops. You know, same old same old." He looked at me for a moment. "How is the cop, anyway?"

I hadn't really had time to think about it much. My focus had shifted back to the Ranger case after being ambushed by our stalker. Hopefully I hadn't missed any big developments.

"He was in surgery all night. They've been having a tough time pulling him out of the post-surgery nap." I got a little teary-eyed. "He's not breathing on his own yet."

Diesel pulled me over with his good arm and gave me a hug. "Sorry, Steph. Want me to give you a lift back to the hospital?"

"Thanks, but I have a ride." Diesel flipped on the TV. My phone buzzed and I glanced at it to see who was calling. It was my dad.

"Hey," I answered. "Sorry, I forgot to let you know I got a ride home from the hospital. I felt like I needed a shower."

"I figured, but I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Do you need a ride back to the hospital? I've got a few customers this morning, but I could drop you off afterwards."

"Thanks, but I've already got it taken care of. Tell Mom not to worry too much. I'll keep you posted if I hear anything new." We ended the call, and I got up and started pacing again.

"Would you cut that out?" Diesel asked. "You're starting to make me dizzy."

"I'm thinking," I protested.

"No kidding. You have steam coming out your ears. Can't you think sitting down?"

"No. Anyway, I think I can stop now. I've got an idea." Diesel raised his good eyebrow.

"Awesome. You go work on your idea, and when my face doesn't feel quite so mashed-meatish, I'll take care of the Bruno mess."

"Actually, my plan kind of requires your assistance. You still any good with locks?"

The plan was simple. The execution…not so much. Ranger was in prison. I needed him out. Diesel was good with locks, and I was pretty sure that included locks that kept people behind bars. The tricky bit was sneaking into the holding cell and sneaking out with an extra body, all without anyone noticing. This was an exceptionally difficult task given that most of the police department knew my face and my sordid history with thugs and ruined cars. I'd be lucky if I made it within ten steps of the station without someone wondering what I was up to. I figured we'd play it by ear and hope for the best.

After dropping by the police station, I realized just how low on thinking energy I was. I also decided I was kind of an idiot. By the time I checked in at the desk, Ranger was already gone. Duh! Diesel had told me back at the apartment that he had more or less pinned the stabbing incident on the Rhino. That probably let Ranger off the hook. Either that, or Tank may have popped over earlier to post bail. Either way, Ranger was no longer behind bars.

"So you don't need me anymore?" Diesel asked as we drove back to the apartment.

"I still need you to sort out the Bruno mess, but yeah, I guess you're off the hook for the breaking-Ranger-out-of-prison bit."

"Dodged a bullet there. If we'd gone through with it, I'd probably have a stream of paperwork to fill out." I doubted Diesel ever had paperwork to fill out, but what did I know? I wasn't a super human.

I dropped Diesel off at the apartment to do his thing and sat in the SUV for a few extra minutes. My next step was to find Ranger. Knowing his brilliant planning capabilities, he had probably already left me some clue to figure out his current whereabouts. However, at this very moment I was feeling really tired and in need of a sugar fix. I stopped off for some coffee and donuts and gave Lula a call. I asked her to keep tabs on Morelli and give me any updates from the hospital. She filled me in on current events from the office. Other than the big Marsha McKinney take-down, there wasn't much new to report.

I drove around aimlessly for a while. There was a good probability that Ranger wasn't back at Rangeman. The location would have been too obvious. He needed a place to regroup and organize, which probably meant he'd headed to one of his safe houses. Unfortunately, I knew very few of the safe house locations. Maybe I should take a chance and try the location the scary surgeon had given me and hope Ranger would already be there.

After a few minutes of tampering with the GPS, I had a sudden epiphany. Ranger had obviously wanted me to find the SUV. After all, he'd given me the keys. If that was the case, then maybe he'd thought so far ahead that he'd programmed his hideout into the GPS so I could track him. I took a moment to browse through the history. There were two locations out of town that I didn't recognize. One was probably Ranger. The other was…well, I didn't really know. On my best day, I probably could have used some reasoning skills to figure out which location was Ranger's, but today I had nothing left to reason with. I flipped a coin. Hopefully a little luck was still on my side.


	28. Chapter 28

I pulled into a low-key neighborhood about an hour later. There wasn't anything special about the house I parked in front of. If anything, it looked painfully ordinary. The yard was small, the grass and hedges were well maintained. No car out front, but I had a pretty strong feeling there was probably a black Porsche in the garage.

The front door opened even before I had a chance to knock. "You're late," Ranger said with a full-on grin. Apparently he was pleased with my detective skills.

"Needed a quick stop for coffee and donuts," I replied with a smirk.

"Babe."

I walked through the door and took a moment to take in my surroundings. Unlike the Rangeman apartment decorated in earthy tones and black accents, this house was bright. The white-washed walls had subtle hints of color, and the skylights in the roof allowed for additional sunlight to dance along the floor. I gave Ranger a look.

"Not the Bat Cave, I take it."

He looked around. "No. Belongs to a relative who's currently out of town. Have to admit, it's kind of growing on me."

I slumped in a chair. "Care to fill me in on everything?"

"We can get to that later. You've been up all night. How about you go rest for a while. I've still got some things to work on anyway."

Normally I would've objected, but considering I nearly fell asleep twice on the drive over, I decided to just go with it. Catching a few precious moments of sleep probably wasn't such a bad idea anyway. I followed Ranger down the hall to one of the bedrooms, climbed in the bed and pulled the covers over my head. I was probably asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

Nightmares kept me from any real sleep. Apparently I couldn't shake the image of Morelli on the bloody bed. He kept dying over and over again in my mind all while the surgeon with crystal eyes kept hissing and laughing. The pillow was soaked with sweat and tears by the time I finally decided to give up on sleeping.

I groggily walked out to the kitchen hoping there was a giant mug of coffee with my name on it. No such luck. Apparently Ranger hadn't had time to do any grocery shopping this morning.

"Were you able to sleep?" he asked looking up from the couch in the living room. I flopped down next to him.

"Not really." I rubbed my eyes. "It's about as good as it's going to get though. What are you working on?"

"Stuff." He shut the laptop.

Obviously there were still some things that Ranger didn't want me to know about. I stared at him waiting for him to talk.

"Is it time to fill me in on the plan?" I asked.

He nodded. "Right, the plan. How much do you want to know?"

"All of it." He gave me a look. "But since I know you so well, I'll settle for as much as you're willing to tell."

He leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees. "I think I know who it is," he said.

"I suspected you did; especially after I figured out the car bit. You seem to be back in strategy mode."

"Once you figured out we were dealing with the two separate situations, things started to click. This is what I've come up with so far: the packages, the poison, and the flowers were all tied to someone from my past. Someone extremely dangerous. I'll get back to that in a minute. The other circumstances with the car bombing and the donuts seemed directed at you, but I think they were actually aimed at someone else."

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Who?"

"Morelli. I'm not positive I have all the details correct, but I'm pretty sure." I sunk back into the couch and waited for him to continue.

"After looking into the Bruno stuff a little further, it became obvious he was tied up in the Stark Street investigation. I should have started putting it together sooner, but we've both been a little distracted lately. My guess is that the Rhino or possibly another henchman was sent to deliver a message to Morelli to keep him off the Bruno case. Obviously this person wasn't too bright or didn't bother with the research because they bombed your car instead of Morelli's. Since you'd been staying at his place, they could've confused the vehicles. Or maybe they wired both cars and Morelli's didn't go off. It's kind of stupid, but the guys involved didn't seem all that bright to begin with. Pretty sure the poisoned donuts were supposed to be a jab at the cops and donuts cliché. Apparently they were unfamiliar with _your_ obsession with them." He paused. "Everything sound plausible so far?"

I nodded, but then hesitated. "Everything up until the attack on Morelli. Why would the person after Bruno try and frame you for the stabbing?"

"Funny you should mention that. I don't think _they_ did. I think the attack happened, you showed up, the assailant went to lay low until everything died down, and in the meantime, someone took advantage of the situation. Someone who wanted _me_ on the run. It's where our two cases momentarily converged."

"Interesting."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"Ok, so party number two plants your prints at the scene. What about the phone call? Gazarra said you called Morelli earlier. Was your phone cloned again?" I could sense some hesitation in the response.

"I'm going to be honest with you, babe. The call was real."

My eyes grew dark and I could feel my temper start to rise. " _What_? You spoke with Morelli? Without my permission?"

"I don't need your permission to speak to anyone," he said stiffly. I glared at him.

"You do when it has to do with me! What did you say to him?" Ranger watched me emotionless. It was driving me nuts! "What did you say, Ranger?" I yelled.

He stood up and walked over to a window. His reaction was subtle, but I could tell he was trying to go into Zen mode. I was definitely getting under his skin.

"Geez!" I yelled flapping my arms. "You're such a jerk sometimes! With all the shit that's been going on between us, I think I deserve to know what you said to him. You have ten seconds to start talking, or I swear I'll walk out that door without even looking back." He watched me for a moment waiting for my poker face to break, but this time I wasn't going to give him the upper hand. I was serious.

"I told him exactly what he needed to hear," he said as I reached a mental count of nine. I made my way over to the door and reached for the handle.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you want me to stay." Yet another stare-down began, and I decided I wasn't getting anywhere. "I've had enough of this. I'm outta here." I pulled open the door, but before I had a chance to walk through it, Ranger jumped over the couch and shut it.

"Don't." He was close enough that I could smell the lingering Bulgari scent on his skin, and for whatever reason my eyes started tearing up. I was losing my resolve. In a last ditch effort to stay in control, I shoved his arm out of the way and went for the door again.

"I told him he was an idiot," Ranger started as he suddenly traded places with me; he was now strategically blocking the doorway. "I told him there was nothing going on between us; that he was a fool not to recognize the best thing that's ever happened to him. I told him that you were in love with him; that you've _always_ been in love with him."

"That doesn't sound even close to something you'd say," I muttered quietly as the tears started running down my cheeks.

"Maybe it's not _exactly_ what I said," he added with a hint of a smile. "You were so close to walking out this door, that I may have embellished the conversation a bit." He leaned a little closer to me. "Now would you mind turning off the whole vulnerability vibe? If you don't, I'm liable to do something I might regret."

"Yeah? Like what?"

He pinned me against the wall. "Like this." His lips brushed my neck and he kissed the length of my jaw until our lips met. It was a long and satisfying kiss. He pulled away and walked back over to the couch, obviously convinced I was no longer a flight risk.

"Yeah. Wouldn't want anything like _that_ to happen," I said in a daze.

Why did he have to be so good at that? Why did he always have to be so good at everything? I had a very fleeting thought that all of this stuff with Ranger would be ok if Morelli was no longer among the living. Then I immediately felt horrible. I was contemplating cheating on my dying boyfriend! Why couldn't I just make up my damn mind already? What was so hard about choosing A over B? Or even B over A? I knew why. It was because I wanted them both, and if I picked one, I'd automatically lose the other.

Ranger was watching me from the couch. "Ready to finish our discussion?"

I hated how quickly he could switch modes like that. One second he's seducing me and the next he's ready for combat strategy. It was all just part of the dizzying puzzle that made up Ranger.

"I'm going to need another minute." There was a hint of a smile as he went back to sorting through his papers.

Eventually I came and sat back down on the couch. "You said you thought you knew who was behind all this. Want to confirm your theory?" I pulled out the bloody cleaning rag from my handbag. Ranger looked at me incredulously.

"Do I want to know?"

"Let's just say that his face got a little too close to my foot."

"Babe."

"It gets better. He slipped this in my shoe." I handed the piece of paper to Ranger. He looked at it briefly.

"I don't recognize the location, but I guess I didn't expect to. What do you think? Want to play his game and show up here like he wants us to?"

"No way! I was kind of hoping you had a better plan than _that_."

"Still ironing out the details, babe."

"How long do you think we have to come up with something?"

"Considering he just gave us the invitation, I figure we probably have around twenty-four hours to decide what to do before he resorts to his backup plan."

"What do you think his backup plan is?"

"The guy is crazy. I bet he already has a sharpshooter with our location. He'll probably just take us out if we don't play his game."

"That's an uplifting thought. Thanks for sugarcoating it for me."

"I thought you wanted me to be honest with you."

"When it comes to my imminent death, I think I want you to be a bit more delicate. Does the reality that you might die ever even cross your mind?"

"Sometimes. Not very often."

"No kidding," I muttered. I walked over to the kitchen and started shuffling through the cupboards.

"What are you looking for?" Ranger asked.

"What does it look like I'm looking for? Food! I need something to balance out all this talk of death." I started opening and slamming cupboards in a frenzy. "Why isn't there any food in this house? Don't your relatives eat?"

"The house has been vacant for a while. What do you need? There's a diner a few streets over."

I made a face. "I'm kind of low on cash." Ranger's mouth twitched.

"That's nothing new. Come on, babe. Last meal's on me."

I whipped around. " _Last_ meal?"

Ranger had a big grin on his face. Sometimes Ranger humor wasn't really all that funny.


	29. Chapter 29

I was halfway through my second cheeseburger before my nerves started to settle. Ranger was eating as peacefully as if we were visiting a monastery. I watched him sneak a few fries from my plate. Maybe he was feeling a little antsy after all.

"So what's the big plan?" I asked after polishing off the burger. "I know you're already thinking of one, so you might as well spill it."

He leaned back in the booth. "It's probably best if I give you some background first. I initially met this guy on a secret service mission when I was in my early twenties. His squad worked with mine for a few months doing some things that were…well, they weren't exactly on the books. Think he's Russian. A whiz with electronics. Name's Vitaly. If I had access to all my Rangeman databases, I could run a background search, but without them I'm afraid we're stuck with what I remember."

"Why is he coming after you?"

"That's the million dollar question. From what I can tell it's not money related. He doesn't seem interested in the Rangeman systems or any of the technology I have access to. Considering he took the effort to involve you, it seems more like a revenge situation. And before you ask for what, I don't know."

"You obviously pissed him off. It seems pretty obvious that he wants you dead." Ranger nodded and took a sip of water.

"It's not entirely uncommon, babe."

I sighed and started rubbing my temples. "Is there ever going to be a day when you're _not_ at the top of someone's hit list?" He looked at me and frowned.

"I don't know," he said quietly. "At least with me in Florida, you won't have to worry about getting caught in the crossfire anymore." His last comment was probably meant as a joke, but since neither of us thought it was very funny, things got awkward really fast.

"So," I said clearing my throat uncomfortably. "Back to the plan." Ranger readjusted his posture and draped his arm over the back of the booth. He looked deceptively relaxed, but I could tell he was studying the room, watching for suspicious activity.

"It would help if I knew more about the situation," he started. "If it's an emotional thing, you can often use that to your advantage. Emotions tend to cloud a person's judgment. But this guy's emotions could be wrapped up in anything from his home country to a dead dog."

"He's got a similar background to you. What would make you want to seek revenge?" I asked.

"Threats or acts of violence against my family, friends," he paused. "The woman I love." I felt my cheeks warm. I stared at my plate trying to avoid the intense gaze from across the table. His last statement was always the unspoken elephant in the room.

"Good thing you're not in love with anyone," I said stupidly. I stole a quick glance at him. He didn't look offended or even remotely bothered by my statement. Instead, he shifted his weight as if debating his response.

"Yeah, good thing."

We sat in an awkward silence for several minutes before Ranger stood. "I sent Tank an encrypted email earlier with a few things I wanted him to get together and look into for me. I'm going to try calling him to check on the progress of things." He tossed me his credit card. "You can pay for the meal with that if the waitress comes by." I watched him disappear out the front door.

Once he was gone, I exhaled the breath I'd apparently been holding. We finally had some things cleared up. Ranger had warned me before that he couldn't give me the relationship I wanted, and now I knew for sure that he didn't classify his feelings for me as love. At least not in the romantic sense. That was good, right? I didn't have to choose anymore. In fact, it seemed like there hadn't even been a real choice to begin with. This was a good thing. Now I would just need to repeat it to myself a few hundred more times before I actually believed it.

I settled our bill and doodled on a napkin waiting for Ranger to return. A few minutes later, I noticed him making his way back to our table.

"C'mon," he said pulling me up from the booth. "We need to go."

"What's wrong?" I asked. He didn't answer until we were back in the car.

"Some of the Rangeman systems have been hacked. Tank said there hasn't been anything too serious yet, and they're working on building new firewalls, but things are definitely escalating quickly. We need to resolve this Vitaly situation before there's any irreparable damage."

Watching Ranger reminded me of a wild panther cornered in a cage. He was calculating every move, and his claws were sharpened for the attack. The even scarier part was that I was pretty sure Vitaly had cornered him like this on purpose.

We made our way back to the house, and Ranger started grabbing a few things from the car to bring in. He tossed a duffel bag at me.

"What's in here?" I asked.

"A grenade launcher," he said nonchalantly. I dropped the bag on the ground.

"Babe, it's your clothes from the apartment." I unzipped the top just to be sure. No grenade launcher. I could hear muffled laughter from behind the car.

"Not funny," I called. Ranger walked over with his luggage still grinning and grabbed my duffel bag too.

"Want me to make it up to you?" he asked. I was worried what the statement implied. So like everything else I didn't know what to do with, I decided to ignore it.

Once inside, Ranger started unpacking his gear, and I decided to hit the shower. I finally had some clean clothes to change into, and some extra time to think was an added bonus. It was slightly disappointing not having the Bulgari shower gel, but considering the circumstances, I decided I really shouldn't be picky.

Ranger was checking out the ammo situation on a few guns when I made my way out to the living room. He glanced up at me.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Not exactly. I mean, I still have a crazy person after me, but at least I'll have clean clothes on when I die. Any progress with the plan?"

"Plan's simple. I'm going to confront Vitaly and end this."

"Simple's usually best. When do we leave?"

"You're not coming," he said while tossing the guns and other assorted assault weaponry into a bag.

"Oh yeah? How do you figure? The location was given to me. I don't think he'll be too happy if I'm a no-show to the party."

"He can deal. You're not going." Ranger had his mothering bossy pants on again.

"What if you need backup? This guy's been a step ahead so far. What if he catches you off guard?"

"He won't." The look on Ranger's face told me he was probably right, but I couldn't shake the feeling that all of this was going to end badly.

"What if I wait in the car?" Ranger rolled his eyes. I couldn't help but laugh. "Impressive. I didn't know you did that."

"What can I say, I learned from the best." He grabbed his bag and headed for the door. "Stay here, Stephanie."

"Or what?"

"This isn't a game. I need to be able to focus in order to minimize casualties. I can't do that with you there."

"And I can't let you do this alone. What if…" I trailed off. "What if you don't come back?"

Ranger dropped his bag. He walked back over to me and kissed me; a real, genuine full-on Ranger kiss complete with full body tingles and enough heat to turn my insides to mush. "Trust me, babe," he said with a smile.

"Ok, fine. You win. How long should I wait here before deciding you're probably dead?"

"Give me a few hours. If you don't hear from me by the end of the day, head back to Rangeman. There's a folder on my desk for you in case all of this goes south." I frowned at him.

"You won't need it. But I always have a backup plan." He walked back to the entryway, grabbed his bag, and with one final glance my direction, headed out the door.


	30. Chapter 30

Now I was alone with nothing to do but sit around and wait. I decided to call Lula to see how things were going back at the hospital. She tried to sound optimistic to make me feel better, but things hadn't improved with Morelli. I wished I had an opportunity to see him before getting all tied up in this mess again. He could die without me even getting a chance to say goodbye. Actually, it could even be worse than that.

I walked back to the bathroom and grabbed the pair of pants I'd been wearing the day before. The papers from the hospital were still in my pocket. I paced around debating whether or not to look at them. I was terrified either way. Sitting on the bed, I started to unfold them. Suddenly my phone rang. It was Diesel.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"Wrapping up some stuff," I replied. "Why? What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know the world isn't going to end prematurely. Bruno's back keeping the peace, the Rhino guy's in prison with pretty solid evidence to keep him there, including the murders from Stark, and the guy framing Bruno and causing this whole mess to begin with is being dealt with by my superiors. Let's just say I don't think he'll be much of a problem anymore."

"That's great," I said halfheartedly. "Nice work."

"Thanks. You need any help with anything else?"

"I wish you _could_ help, but I'm not sure my other problem falls within your jurisdiction."

"Fair enough. I'll get out of your hair then. Oh, and Steph," he added. "Sorry in advance."

"What exactly do you mean by 'sorry in advance'?"

"Carl showed up at the apartment. I guess his hired caretaker got tired of looking after him. He kind of trashed the place." I did a face-palm.

"Anything else?" I groaned.

"Um, now that you mention it…"

"Diesel!"

"I may have spilled some wine on the carpet. Nothing super noticeable. Just thought you might want to know."

"Goodbye Diesel."

"Until next time, Plum." I seriously hoped there wasn't going to be a next time. Diesel appearances often left a mess of trouble and disaster in their wake. I seriously had enough of that in my life without him.

Speaking of disasters… The papers were still sitting on the bed. But I'd lost my nerve again. Maybe a trip to a gas station for some Tastykakes would give me a confidence boost. It could be like an edible toast to the future. I went out to the living room and grabbed my handbag. Hopefully I had enough cash for my purchases. I checked my wallet. Three twenty dollar bills fell out with a note.

"In case you get hungry." It was hard to tell if it was a jab at the mass quantities of food I regularly consumed, or if it was supposed to imply how long Ranger was planning to be gone. Hopefully he was just trying to be funny. I shoved everything back in my bag and headed out to the Rangeman SUV.

I turned on the GPS to find a nearby gas station when I suddenly remembered I had access to another location of interest. I'd plugged in Vitaly's whereabouts before I'd figured out where to find Ranger. With any luck, it was still saved in the system. The opportunity to follow Ranger was staring me right in the face.

For several minutes I sat nibbling my fingernails not sure what I should do next. Ranger had specifically told me that I wasn't invited along for this takedown. In fact, if I showed up, there was a good chance he'd be so mad that he might not even talk to me for a few weeks. But if I ended up saving his life, could he really _stay_ mad? Two against one were better odds anyway. Even Ranger couldn't refute logic like that. I put the car in gear and headed off toward a very uncertain future.

I'd like to say that on the long drive over I contemplated all the possible strategies for Ranger's rescue, but instead I mostly sat thinking about the last several years of my life. I thought about my career as a bounty hunter, my friends, my family, and the two men in my life. A few distinct memories brought a smile to my face like my first encounter with Lula on Stark Street, staying at Morelli's place for the first time, and seeing Ranger in a tux. I thought about all my brushes with death, the cars I'd lost, and all the people I'd encountered along the way. It was an oddly nostalgic drive considering I was probably on my way to imminent doom.

I've always wondered why the bad guys tend to choose vacant warehouses for their final showdown. They seem so cliché. Regardless how I felt on the matter, the GPS led me straight to an old industrial area and directed me to a large, concrete building that seemed only days away from collapse. Maybe Ranger should have brought a grenade launcher after all. One grenade at the foundation, and the whole thing probably would have collapsed taking care of the whole Vitaly problem once and for all. Oh well. Maybe something to log away under "better plans for next time." If there even was a next time.

For a moment, I debated about where to leave the car. My instincts told me to drive it a few blocks over and park it. There it would be out of the way and a little less conspicuous. But in the event of needing a quick getaway, it would be nice to have it as close to the warehouse as possible. I decided to go with my initial plan and parked it next to a van a couple blocks away.

I called Lula one last time to check on Morelli. I got choked up when she told me he was breathing on his own.

"Want me to come and get you?" she asked. "So you can be here when he wakes up?"

"Sorry, I have some things to take care of first, but call if… _when_ he wakes up. Even if I don't answer. Just leave a message. I'll try to be back as soon as I can."

Lula reluctantly agreed. She was obviously worried about me, but I didn't have time to go into all the details from the last several days. I wanted to tell her she was one of my best friends, maybe even closer these days than Mary Lou, but I didn't want to make it sound like I was saying a final farewell. So instead I told her we needed to have a girls' night once things died down a little. She got all excited and said she'd start brainstorming some ideas with Tiny. I laughed. Hopefully I'd live long enough to enjoy another girls' night out.

I grabbed the gun I knew was under the passenger seat and rummaged through the rest of the car to get together some emergency supplies in case things really got out of control. Surprisingly there wasn't much, but I shoved what I could in my handbag, took a deep breath and started heading toward the warehouse.


	31. Chapter 31

The building was cool and dark, its concrete walls echoing every small sound I made. I walked with my gun drawn, unsure of what to expect. With any luck, Ranger had already taken out Vitaly. Maybe he was already disposing of the body. Of course, this was all wishful thinking.

I stood in a darkened corner and listened. It was eerily quiet. Without any clues as to Ranger's or Vitaly's whereabouts, I decided to keep going. After I'd done a moderately thorough job of casing the ground floor, I hesitantly made my way up a concrete stairwell to the next level. It was then that I heard it.

A deep throaty laugh reverberated off the walls and sent chills down my spine. I followed the sound to a room off in the distance. Sheets of plastic hung from the rafters obstructing my view. I pushed them aside and gasped.

"Ah, good of you to join me Ms. Plum," a voice crooned. I stopped to take in the man that stood before me.

He was moderately tall, angular and solidly built. His face was younger than I'd imagined covered with sandy blond hair; day-old beard stubble framed his mouth. There was white medical tape across his nose and bluish-black bruising under his eyes, no doubt from my well-planted kick. At one time, he was probably handsome, but the deranged look that haunted his red-rimmed crystal eyes was undeniably hideous.

"Vitaly," I said trying not to show the fear I felt coursing through my body.

"So you _do_ know who I am." He gave me a sinister grin. "How much has your boyfriend told you?"

"Not much."

"Too bad." He glanced at a watch on his wrist. "Could I persuade you to join me for a romantic meal on the rooftop?" I cringed. Vitaly pulled a gun on me with the finesse of a well-trained soldier. "If you please, Ms. Plum."

He was probably a better shot than I was, so reluctantly I followed him. We climbed out a busted window and took a scaffolding platform to the roof.

"Where's Ranger?" I asked stiffly.

"He should already be dead with all the trouble he's caused," he growled. Then suddenly his face softened slightly. "But as you'll come to find out, I'm not completely heartless." He stopped the platform and pulled me over the rooftop ledge. "Ah, here we are."

I brushed myself off and glanced around. There was a table off to one side of the rooftop looking out over the skyline. A man sat slumped in a chair. It took me a moment to realize who it was. I ran over to him.

"What did you do to him?" I cried.

"Just a sedative, my dear. Your boyfriend stormed in here with enough rage and fury that I thought his heart might give out a little prematurely. He should have remembered from our old chess matches, that I'm always one step ahead. Eh, Ranger?" Ranger made a faint groaning sound in response.

"Why?" I asked slumping on the ground next to him. "Why are you doing this?"

"We have some time to kill until that sedative wears off. You think I should tell her?" he asked Ranger. For a brief moment, Ranger's expression changed back. His eyes darkened and his body grew rigid, but eventually the drugs took hold again and he relaxed. At least he was fighting it.

"I suppose it all comes down to forgotten promises. I can't stand people who go back on their word."

The statement caught me off guard. I had always known Ranger to be a man of his word. He almost took it to the extreme.

"I think you've got the wrong man. I've never known him to go back on a promise. Ever."

"Mmm," he said thoughtfully. "Well, let me tell you a story Ms. Plum. Several years ago, even before meeting our mutual friend here, I did some security detail for some very high-end clientele. A man got in touch with me to provide protection for his wife; she had been receiving death threats from a stalker. I took on the job thinking it would be like any other. Funny how fate seems to have different plans for us."

"Her name was Nadia. She was a prima ballerina with the Russian ballet. Have you ever seen a performance?" he asked.

"Can't say that I have."

"Definitely your loss. It's a pure delight to see. Those women float across the stage like weightless feathers, their bodies moving in continuous fluid motion… It's breathtaking." His eyes glistened at the thought. "I accompanied her to every practice, every performance, and with every moment I spent with her, she pulled me deeper into her captivating trance. Her airy laughter still echoes in my mind." He paused and glanced over at Ranger. "Sounding familiar?" Ranger's expression remained emotionless.

"Needless to say, we began a passionate love affair. She divorced her husband to be with me, but of course he didn't take the news very well. He was a powerful and dangerous man. He used his connections to limit my work, so I took on a tech job with a small specialized military group. I met Ranger and his unit about a year later." He glanced at his watch again. "Would you care for something to drink?" he asked.

"No."

While Vitaly was engaged in storytelling, I was trying to think up a way off the roof. Vitaly had taken my handbag and gun, so I didn't currently have any weapons. There was the possibility of ambushing Vitaly and stealing _his_ gun, but there was a good chance he'd get a shot off before I could wrangle the gun from his hands. Plus, this all seemed way too planned. Somehow there was something else keeping Ranger on the rooftop besides the sedative and restraints, and I had a feeling it was tied to the watch that Vitaly kept checking. I decided I needed to know more about what was going on before I could figure out an escape plan.

"What happened to Nadia?" I asked.

"I worked several missions and did many things I now regret. Perhaps Ranger here feels the same way. There was a point when our units were captured and taken prisoner by a militant group. They had intel on everyone, knew all of our backgrounds, all of our secrets. In exchange for our release, they wanted software and technology programs. Of course, we couldn't give them what they wanted. Ranger and a few others managed to escape. We'd made an unofficial pact before he left that if either of us survived, we'd take care of the other's loved ones."

"I couldn't find her," Ranger interrupted suddenly having pulled out of his drugged stupor. His face was still emotionless, but I could tell his mental gears were already working again.

"Bullshit!" Vitaly screamed. " _They_ found her! And tortured her! Her feet were broken, crushed. Her beautiful figure would never dance the stage again. And it was entirely _your_ fault!" Ranger sat taking in the accusation.

"Do you want to know where I finally found her?" Vitaly asked. "She was in an institution. Her mind was shattered by all the torture. She was too delicate a creature to endure such things. And she never should have had to," he said darkly as tears filled his eyes. "I came by to see her every day for two months. Then one day they found her body hanging from a pipe in her room. I didn't even have a chance to say goodbye."

The sadness in his voice was starting to resonate with me. It was a terribly tragic story. Two people deeply in love ripped apart and ruined by life's dark twists and turns. I almost felt bad for Vitaly. But then again, he was pointing a gun at my head.

"At her funeral, I felt so empty I could hardly breathe. It took a year or two before I could even think straight. But eventually I started focusing my attention on avenging her death. It started with the militant group. I spent days, months researching the torturers and their whereabouts. Needless to say, their dismembered body parts are now at the bottom of a river somewhere. It was probably too kind of an end for them, but once I found them, I couldn't stop myself. It was all blind rage and fury."

The look he had when talking about the militant group terrified me. It was the same look I'd seen when I'd found him on the second floor in the warehouse. It was unhinged, crazy, and murderous.

"Of course, I've had much more time to consider your punishment, Ranger," Vitaly continued. "I settled on a quid pro quo arrangement, you see. Your broken promise resulted in the loss of a woman I deeply loved. I figured I owed you the same."

I sat watching Ranger. He didn't flinch or move or anything. His eyes were still dark; I couldn't make out what he was thinking.

"You've made a mistake," I began, trying to catch Vitaly off guard. "Ranger isn't 'in love' with anyone."

"You know, Ms. Plum, I thought so too. In fact, I have spent many, many long years studying Ranger and his sordid relationships. Did you know he has a daughter?" he asked with a snide smile. "Silly me, of course you know. I saw it in the papers. For a while, I thought she was my best bet for seeking revenge. But you know Ranger, for a father, you are strangely detached from the girl." I saw Ranger's jaw tighten, but he still managed to keep his emotions in check.

"Of course, you must love her because in the end you were willing to take a bullet for her. But then I had to wonder, was it really for the girl? Or was it for someone else?" Vitaly paused and started walking around. "How long have you known the lovely Stephanie Plum, Ranger?"

"A while," Ranger answered after several moments of silence.

"Probably longer than I knew my Nadia. But there's something about meeting someone like that, isn't there? From the moment you see them, your whole world flips upside down, and suddenly you're in a nosedive unable to do anything but simply fall."

"You've got it wrong," Ranger scowled.

"Mmm…I don't think so." He turned his attention to me. "Stephanie. We've known each other long enough to be on a first name basis now, right?" I glared at him. "Are you aware that Ranger plants tracking devices on you?"

"I get in trouble a lot. We work in a dangerous profession; he does it out of precaution. He's come to my rescue several times, and often not a moment too soon."

"That's awful nice of him, isn't it? Does he go to that much trouble for his other friends and acquaintances?"

"I have no idea. Ranger doesn't share a lot with me."

"Yes, well that isn't very uncommon of our friend, now is it? Still like to keep your secrets, eh?" Vitaly was pacing and building in momentum. He was becoming almost manic.

"Vitaly, I don't give a shit about Stephanie," Ranger hissed. Although I was assuming it was all an attempt to protect me at this point, the words still cut through me like a knife. The conviction with which he said them made my chest ache.

"Oh? You see, Ranger, I don't believe you. Your actions have always spoken louder than your words. I've seen the way you look at her, and you cannot for one moment convince me that a man going to such lengths to protect a woman is not consumed with love for her."

I caught a glimpse of some strange expression from Ranger before he started shaking his head. "It was the cop," he started. "He was paying me to keep her safe." My jaw dropped. Was it possible? Had Morelli been behind the heightened surveillance all along? I couldn't make sense of what was strategy and what was truth anymore. I just sat in a daze.

"No!" Vitaly yelled in a rage. "Don't start with the mind games, Ranger. You've spent the night with her! Besides, my love for Nadia began with becoming her security detail. Even if you aren't lying about the cop, I still know what I've seen." Vitaly aggressively pulled me from my chair and shoved me in front of Ranger. "If you don't love her, tell her yourself. I need to hear it. I need to _see_ it."

Our faces were so close that I could feel Ranger's breath on my skin. I could still see signs of his mind running through scenarios, and for the briefest of moments I started to understand some of Ranger's mystery. He had been living and breathing the world of people like Vitaly for so long. The dark layers of humanity embedded with lies, violence, and dark intent always threatening any normal part of his life. He'd learned to cope with it in a way, but I guess he could never truly escape it. It made me sad.

"I _don't_ love you Stephanie Plum," Ranger growled. Another dagger in my gut. I tried not to show the pain those words caused. Vitaly's eyes grew dark.

"Wrong answer." He pulled me up to my feet again and wrenched my arm behind me. Fiery pain surged through my body as I heard bone crack. I screamed in agony.

Ranger's eyes shot daggers at Vitaly as he fought savagely against his restraints. "Don't. Touch. Her," he seethed.

"Now _that's_ more like it. See? You _do_ have feelings for her. I knew it!" he crowed victoriously. "Now on with the plan. Try anything stupid, Ranger, and I'll blow this place. Don't think I won't." He tapped his watch. It was obviously a detonator of sorts.

"I'll give you a few minutes to say your goodbyes, and then, well I kind of planned this differently, but I'm afraid I'll just have to shoot Stephanie. Then I'll blow the building and everything will be all nice and wrapped up again. My dear Nadia will be avenged." Vitaly's voice was really freaking me out. He had clearly gone insane. Intelligent people and insanity were obviously a highly lethal mix.

Vitaly shoved me toward Ranger again, and I hobbled over cradling my broken arm. I wasn't really sure what to say. I thought about the drive over, and decided I had only one thing left to tell Ranger.

"Thank you," I whispered as I leaned down and kissed him. Even though he had told me just moments before that he didn't love me, I was glad that he didn't kiss me with detachment. In fact, he kissed me like he usually did with enough heat and passion to keep me always guessing about his true feelings for me. Maybe it was a mystery I was never meant to solve. He pulled away slightly.

"I always have a backup plan," he whispered. It was so quiet that I almost didn't hear it. I stood up slowly, staring at him. What did he mean? Then I noticed it. There was something in my mouth! Gross! I surreptitiously moved it around with my tongue trying to decipher what it was. Vitaly pulled me back away from the table. Ranger subtly mouthed a word at me. _Poison._ Then I started to understand.

Everything I knew about cyanide pills was tied up in urban legend and the movies. It was a form of suicide, and often it was a soldier who took it when all other possible strategies had been exhausted. Or when dangerous information needed to be protected. I was worried what the tiny pill implied for our current situation. Then I had one of my crazy, harebrained ideas. It was a shoot-the-moon one-in-a-million shot, but at least it was something.

I let tears well up in my eyes and glanced back at Vitaly. "Thank you," I cried flinging myself against him being careful with my arm. "I had no idea. I mean, I'd always suspected, but thank you for allowing me to see Ranger's _true_ feelings. To think I could have died without even knowing!" I braced myself for what was coming next.

I stared into Vitaly's crazed eyes and leaned in to kiss him. My heart was pounding so furiously against my ribs that I nearly passed out. I pressed my tongue against his lips until he opened them in surprise. He pulled back. "Wow," he gasped. "You saucy…" I didn't give him a chance to finish the thought.

My good arm slammed into his jaw in what I hoped was enough force to break the capsule. His eyes grew wide as he tasted the poison.

"You bitch!" he gargled grasping at his throat. He spat and clawed at his tongue trying to rid his body of the cyanide. It was no use. He collapsed on the rooftop. But not before he moved his fingers precariously over his watch. "Do svidaniya," he gasped as his eyes clouded over.

"I sure hope that pill wasn't intended for me…or you for that matter," I said glancing back at Ranger. He was already halfway out of his restraints.

"Look at the watch," Ranger said ignoring my comment for the time being. "The watch, babe. What does it say?" I pulled Vitaly's arm up and read the numbers.

"7:13, 7:12, 7:11…oh my gosh! It's a countdown." Ranger pulled me to my feet then slipped the watch off Vitaly's wrist.

"How's the arm?" he asked looking me over.

"Hurts like hell." He gave me a twitch of a smile before turning serious.

"I hate to break this to you, but it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. We need to run. Now." He took my good hand and pulled me toward the ledge with the scaffolding. He pulled me over the ledge and glanced at the watch. "Shit, I don't think we can make it down in time."

Ranger looked around calculating his next move. He pulled the platform back up to the roof and surveyed the building looking for something specific. "Look for a loose beam, a piece of a wood, anything." We started frantically searching the roof for materials. Ranger found something suitable first.

"Alright, babe," he said laying a lengthy scrap of wood on the ledge. It connected the warehouse to an adjacent building in equal disrepair. I didn't like where this plan was going. "You're going to have to go across this."

"Hell no," I squeaked. "That thing is like four inches wide. I'd rather take my chances getting blown off the building."

"Stephanie, we don't have time for this. Now get your ass across that beam." He picked me up and set my feet on the ledge. "Just run across it. It'll happen so fast you won't even notice." I glanced back at him.

"Yeah, unless I fall off and go splat. I think I'll probably notice that part. Unless of course I'm dead."

"Just go," he said shaking his head.

"Wait." In case I died, I didn't want my last thought to be of this crazy day. I leaned down and kissed Ranger. He pushed me on. "Alright, alright. I'm going. Geez." I took a deep breath and started making my way across.

"You're doing great, but would you mind picking up the pace? We're kind of on a time crunch here." I glanced back and glared at him.

"I'm doing the best I can. Did you see how high up we are? I feel like a freaking tight rope walker." Halfway across I felt the wood creak a little, and I suddenly had regrets for every extra donut I'd ever eaten. If I survived, I'd definitely restrict my intake…just in case I should ever wind up in a similar situation.

I finally made it across and did a little victory dance. Almost the second I hopped off, Ranger jumped on and started moving quickly across it. Suddenly the warehouse started shaking. The explosives had detonated, and the whole building was starting to collapse. The movement threw Ranger off balance, and he started to slip. I gasped as he lost his footing. Everything seemed to move in slow motion.

His arm caught the beam as he fell, but there was a sickening crack as the wood gave under the abrupt impact. For the briefest of moments, Ranger's eyes caught mine. The beam snapped, and I screamed as Ranger descended in freefall toward the pavement below.

My mind was racing. I knew I should run and get as far away from the explosion as possible. It was probably what Ranger would have told me to do, but all I could focus on was getting to Ranger. Maybe…maybe he was still…

I sprinted across the roof and somehow managed in my frantic state to find the stairwell. Half tripping, half stumbling, I made it to the base of the building, but my adrenaline and the explosions had left me disoriented. I raced around trying to remember where the fall had taken place. Everything looked like crumbled concrete, and there was dust everywhere. Then I saw him.

I started to run toward him, shouting his name, hoping there would be some movement. I was just a few steps away when the ground shook again. I flung myself across his body and tried to curl around him. Pieces of debris fell all around us. I glanced up just in time to see a large slab of concrete falling from the sky. Then everything went black.


	32. Chapter 32

It's crazy how something so life changing can go unnoticed by the world. I learned later that the warehouse collapse was ruled an "accident" by the investigators. They probably weren't all that interested in sorting through the numerous piles of rubble to find the detonators and remnants of the explosives that had shattered my world. In fact, it probably saved the city money not having to pay for the building's inevitable demolition.

There would be no funeral for Vitaly. His existence would probably go unnoticed by everyone save for Ranger and I who unfortunately witnessed his gasping rooftop swan song. Vitaly's clear, crystal eyes would only haunt my dreams, and the stories of his Nadia would disappear like a ghostly memory. That's life for you, I guess.

I woke up in a hospital bed, my entire body aching. There was a large cast on my arm, and the whole thing was strung up in a sling. I tried turning to reach the nurse's call button, but the pain was too intense, so I sat staring out the window instead. Eventually a nurse dropped by to check my vitals.

"You're awake," she said. Apparently she wasn't one to miss the obvious… "Your friend will be glad to hear that."

I raised an eyebrow. "My friend?" I asked hoarsely.

"Sorry, is he more like a fiancé or something? I didn't see a ring, so I just… Well, never mind. People are all nontraditional these days. Anyway, the good-looking Latino guy was asking about you."

"He's ok?" I sputtered. I replayed the fall from the warehouse over and over in my mind. If it had been anyone else… Then again, it was Ranger. Ranger was far from normal.

"He's got a few broken ribs and a concussion, but yeah, I think he'll be ok." She was smiling and cheerful, and it probably should have made me feel better, but mostly I just wanted to tell her to take her ray-of-sunshiny attitude and shove it up her…

"Is he still here?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I could go and check." She glanced at her watch. "He's usually somewhere close by." She grabbed her clipboard and left the room.

A few minutes later, there was a single knock on the door, and Ranger walked in. For a moment we just stared at each other taking in the aftermath of all that we'd been through.

"How are you feeling?" he asked placing a small vase of flowers on a nearby table.

"Like a concrete building fell on top of me. You?"

"Broken ribs hurt like hell, and I've had a killer headache for the last few hours, but it's kind of nice to see another sunny day in Jersey, don't you think?" I nodded. Ranger gingerly sat down on the bed. He took my hand in his.

"I don't really know how to say this," he started. I bit my lip trying not to cry. I had a terrible feeling I knew what was coming next. "But you said you thought you at least deserved a goodbye, so I'm here to say…"

"Don't," I stopped him. "Please. I've watched you nearly die twice in the last week. I can't bear the thought of losing you for a third time." He shook his head. When he spoke again his voice cracked.

"Shit, sorry. I imagined this all going a little differently." I reached out and touched his face. It was nice to know there were emotions buried somewhere in there after all. He cleared his throat. "I'm turning Rangeman over to Tank, so if you need anything, _anything_ , he's just a phone call away." I nodded.

"You'll be back occasionally, right?" I asked. "You have family here and stuff."

"Holidays maybe," he sighed. "But I don't think we should…," he trailed off. "Babe, I want you to have a chance to get on with your life. You have a real shot at something here, and although it's killing me that I won't be around to be part of it, I really just want what's best for you."

"How do you know what's best for me? What if…" He glanced down and shook his head.

"I thought about leaving this for you to open later, but… Well, here." Ranger handed me a small gift bag that I hadn't even noticed he'd brought in. I pulled out the tissue paper and gasped. Tears immediately filled my eyes.

"How long have you known?" I asked quietly.

"They ran some blood tests when you came in. I snuck a peak at your chart. Congratulations, babe."

I held the tiny pair of shoes in my hand. How something so life-changing could come in such a small size was completely beyond me.

"This isn't why you're leaving, is it?" I asked.

Ranger shook his head. "All of this has been in the works for a while. It's a really good opportunity for me to see what I can salvage with Julie. As much as I hate to admit it, Vitaly had a point about our relationship. And someday if things don't change, there isn't going to be anything left to fix." I really hated the fact that he was leaving, but honestly I couldn't fault him for his reasons. I grabbed a tissue from the side table to wipe my eyes.

"When do you head out?" I asked.

"Day after tomorrow. I'm taking the Cayenne. Do you want one of the other cars?"

"Nah, that'd be weird, right?"

"I'd say you've earned it. You could consider it hazard pay." He gave me a twitch of a smile. I frowned. I was really going to miss that. Heck, who was I kidding? I was going to miss it all.

"I guess I could hang on to a fleet car. At least until I can replace it with something a bit more practical." Ranger nodded.

"It's settled then." He shifted uncomfortably. "I should probably get going. Your family will probably be stopping by here soon." His face turned serious. "Listen, you need to know there won't be a day that goes by when I won't be thinking about you. Promise me you'll make the most of all the craziness that is your life." He leaned down and kissed me. When he pulled back, his eyes seemed slightly more glassy than usual. Maybe it was just the lighting. "You are without a doubt one of the most fascinating people I've ever met, Stephanie Plum, and I have been completely enamored with you since the moment we met. I'm _really_ going to miss you."

"I'm really going to miss you too," I sniffed. I really wanted to tell him that I loved him, but I just couldn't make myself do it. Not with everything coming to an end like this. There was really probably just one thing left to say. "Goodbye, Ricardo Carlos Manoso," I said feeling my eyes well up again.

"Goodbye, Stephanie Michelle Plum." He squeezed my hand and headed for the door. With one final glance back my direction, Ranger was gone.

As predicted, my family showed up shortly after Ranger left. It was a regular ole Plum frenzy with everyone trying to adjust my pillows and wanting to know exactly what had happened. Of course, I lied and said I was chasing a skip in an abandoned warehouse when the building started to collapse. It sounded like just another day in the life of Stephanie Plum. They seemed to buy the story, which was good because given my current emotional state, I wasn't in the mood for the twenty questions game.

An hour later a doctor swung by and decided I wasn't in any serious disrepair, so he signed my discharge papers, and I was free to go.

"I've got some leftover pot roast if you'd like to come home for lunch," my mom offered.

"Sounds perfect. I'm starving."

Kloughn and Valerie were already back at the house with their kids by the time the rest of us pulled in. Bob slobbered all over me the moment I walked through the door. The place was noisy and crazy, and the table was so crowded that Kloughn dribbled gravy in my lap twice while we were eating. It was utter chaos, but I loved every minute of it.

Just as we were starting into dessert, I got a call on the house phone. It was Lula. She'd been trying to call my cell phone, but obviously wasn't getting through. The thing was probably still buried under all the warehouse rubble. I'd probably need to replace it…again.

"I decided to take a chance and call your parents," she said as I ate a rather large bite of pineapple upside down cake.

"Why did you need to get a hold of me?" I asked between bites.

"You said to call," she started. "I just heard Officer Hottie's awake." I dropped my fork and grabbed the keys for Big Blue. I tossed them over to my dad.

"Mind driving me to the hospital? I can't drive with the cast."

"Sure thing, kiddo. Is something wrong?" he asked, his eyebrows wrinkled in concern.

"He's awake," I choked out, tears already starting to slide down my cheeks.


	33. Chapter 33

The drive to the hospital took forever. I chewed through two fingernails before we were even parked. My dad held my hand as we took the elevator up to the recovery floor. I felt like I was five again. It was kind of annoying, but oddly comforting as well.

Finally the elevator doors opened, and I darted over to the nurses' station.

"Joe Morelli?" I asked feeling my heart start to pound uncontrollably.

"He's just down the hall. Room 211."

Time seemed to stop for a moment as I pushed open the door. Joe's mother and grandmother were in the room talking with him. I did a mental grimace. Grandma Bella stood and walked over to me.

"You," she scowled, but then her face softened a little. "He's been asking for you. Where have you been, silly girl?"

I showed her my sling and cast. "It's been an interesting couple of days," I sighed.

"Mmmm," she nodded, still eyeing me suspiciously. "You better watch it. Or I put the eye on you."

"We'll give you two a moment," Mrs. Morelli offered, ushering Grandma Bella out the door.

There was something terribly unsettling about seeing Joe Morelli laid up in a hospital bed. I guess it made him look small, and he always seemed so strong and larger than life. I smiled as I walked over to the bed.

I ran my fingers through his hair. "You need a haircut."

"Nice to see you too, Cupcake. What's with the arm? Rough day on the job?"

"Something like that," I frowned. He started to laugh, and then we were both laughing, but eventually the smiles turned to tears. At least for me.

"Aw, c'mon. Don't do that. You know how much I hate to see you cry," he said. I climbed into the bed with him.

"You had me scared out of my mind," I sniffled quietly. I wondered how much he remembered from the incident. _And_ I wondered if he was still mad at me.

"I heard it was pretty touch and go there for a while. You know," he paused. "You probably saved my life. They told me you were the one who found me. What were you doing back at the house?"

"I stopped by to talk with you. I wanted to clear the air."

"Good thing you're not as stubborn as I am. Otherwise…" I desperately wanted to change the subject. I didn't want to think about death anymore.

" _I_ might not be, but our baby might." I felt his whole body tense. He turned in the bed and tilted my chin so I was looking directly in his eyes.

"Care to run that last bit by me again?" he asked with a small smile.

"I just found out," I said wiping my eyes. "Probably due sometime early next year."

"Wow, Cupcake," he said with a dopey expression. "That's great!"

"You think we're up for this?" I asked glancing down towards my stomach. He leaned down and kissed me.

"I've never been more ready for anything in my whole life. Well, except…" He reached over to the side table and grabbed a small box. He carefully pulled me into a sitting position.

"Stephanie Plum, you are one of the craziest and most unconventional women I have ever known, and I have been smitten with you since grade school. You're never afraid to tell it like it is, and I've come to love you all the more for it. You're strong and vibrant, and although we've had our share of ups and downs, at the end of the day I can't even function without knowing you'll be waiting for me when I come home. I want to share every remaining moment of my life with you. Will you marry me?" He opened the box to reveal a beautiful engagement ring. He carefully slid it on my finger.

"Wow," I gasped. "How long have you been holding onto this?" I sat admiring the diamonds.

"A couple weeks. Our timing never seems to play out right, does it?" I smiled and shook my head. "So what'll it be, Cupcake? You ready to tie the knot?" I assumed he probably already knew the answer.

"Joe Morelli, I thought you'd never ask."


	34. Chapter 34

**Back to the Future**

I could feel myself start to hyperventilate.

"You ok?" Lula asked. "Your face just went white as a ghost."

"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine. Sorry, it just took me by surprise is all." My hands were a little shaky, so I sat on them.

"Damn, girl. It's been like what, close to thirty years? I didn't think you'd react like this, but it's really got you reelin', huh?"

I nodded. "I guess I just never thought I'd have an opportunity to see him again. I mean, maybe in passing or something because I know he still has connections here, but…well, gosh. I don't even know. Do you think he wants to see me?"

"How the hell should I know? Why don't you just call him and ask?" I gave Lula a look.

"You don't just call someone that you haven't spoken with in thirty years. What would I even say? 'Hey, it's me. How have the last thirty years gone for you?'" I rolled my eyes.

"Why not?"

"I'd sound like an idiot. Besides, what if he _does_ want to see me? I'm not sure I could do it. I mean, look at me. I'm all wrinkles and aching joints. I have reading glasses for pete's sake! And I never did go back to my former pants size after having Marco."

"Geez, calm down already. You're getting _me_ all in a tizzy. He's just in town to wrap up some business stuff. Probably be in and out of here faster than you can blink. It's his style, ya know."

Yeah, I knew alright. "Hang on a sec. How did _you_ know he was going to be in town?"

"Tank called me up a couple weeks ago. He'd been doing some down-sizing and clearing things out. Found an old box of my things in his basement and wanted to know if I wanted any of it back. I said 'what the hell,' so we met up a few days later over lunch and had a good ole time chattin' and reminiscin' about them olden golden years." She paused. "Eventually he told me he was planning on retiring. Gonna kiss the whole Rangeman business goodbye. Said Ranger would be by soon to wrap up all the paperwork."

"And you didn't think to call and tell me any of this?" I blurted.

"Sorry. Must be that old people's disease again. You know my memory's not that great anymore."

"Lula, its Ranger we're talking about here. That's not just big news, that's freaking _colossal_ news!" I was all flustered now. My palms were all sweaty, and I could feel my heartbeat in my eardrums. Hopefully this wasn't what a heart attack felt like.

"What do you plan on doing?" Lula finally asked.

"I don't really know," I said quietly. And honestly, I didn't. The world would probably continue on as usual if I didn't see him. After all it had moved along rather seamlessly all those other years. But even after all this time, there was still that small part of me that wondered. There was a part of me still stuck in the past that always stubbornly refused to move forward. Maybe this was my chance for some real closure. To get some things off my chest. Or perhaps… I let out a laugh. The thought was absurd.

"What's so funny?" Lula asked.

"Nothing. Sorry, I was just thinking about something crazy. Can you do me a favor and find out where Ranger is staying? I think I would like to see him."

"Sure girl. Anything else I can do?" I shook my head.

"I guess that's it for now. Thanks for the shopping day and for the news update." Lula hopped back out of the car.

"Lula, wait!"

She poked her head back in the door. "Yeah?"

"Know any good diets to lose like ten pounds in an hour?" Lula grinned.

"Honey, I got just the thing you need."


	35. Chapter 35

Marco stopped by later that evening, and we talked over meatball subs.

"What's up, Mom?" he asked after filling me in on his most recent news. I frowned.

"Nothing's up," I said walking over to the fridge. "Want some dessert? I picked up a cake from the store. It's your favorite." He gave me a look then helped me grab a few small plates.

"So you're not going to tell me, huh? I do work with the police, you know. Eventually I'll figure it out." He gave me a mischievous grin that reminded me of his father. I ruffled his dark, wavy hair. He rolled his eyes. Apparently he was too grown up for the hair-ruffling.

"Sorry, you're right. It's just some stuff from the past. It's got me all distracted."

"You? Distracted? Well, _that_ never happens." He rolled his eyes again. I laughed.

"Someone I knew from a long time ago is supposed to be in town. It's been sending me on an unplanned trip down memory lane. I've had so much on my mind lately. About this person, old friends, you," I paused. "Your dad."

Marco played with his fork on his plate. "I miss him," he said softly.

"I do too."

It had been almost six years since Joe Morelli passed away, and some days the rawness of it felt just hours old. Cancer, of all things, had been what finally stole him away from me. When we were first married, I had always assumed he'd go out in a gun fight. But eventually he was promoted to a cushy desk job at the station, and my worries over his safety diminished a little. I even started envisioning us on old people cruises and with grandkids running around. Unfortunately Joe wouldn't live to see sixty.

Being back in the hospital so frequently was probably the worst part. That and watching someone so strong and fearless wither away before my very eyes. In a way I thought it was Karma striking back for all those years I spent dragging my feet with our relationship. Sometimes it made me think of Vitaly and Nadia. Maybe we'd just been dealt a crummy hand.

Of course, it wasn't all bad either. Some of my favorite memories took place in that repulsive hospital. Especially toward the end. Joe seemed oddly relaxed and even a little peaceful. It was all very unItalian. Some days while I'd sit and read a magazine in his room, he would just watch me from his hospital bed. We'd share memories and favorite moments, and we decided at the very end that we really didn't have that bad of a run together. We'd had a good marriage, a terrific kid, and enough crazy family moments to last a lifetime.

It's the dull heartache and loneliness that are the most difficult parts to cope with now. Friends have tried to set me up on dates, but none of it ever feels right. I try to pretend to be Grandma Mazur and just live life, throwing all caution to the wind, but it's much more difficult than it looks. It would have been nice if that woman would have stuck around a little longer to give me some advice on the matter. I'll probably just have to rely on my own instincts for now.

"So what are you going to do about this person from the past?" Marco asked pulling me away from my thoughts.

"I haven't really decided yet. It's been a really long time, and I don't know… It's complicated." I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

Marco took my hand in his. "You need to do what's best for you. If it's best to leave the door closed to the past, then do it. You don't owe this person anything. But," he paused. "If you're worried about something else, maybe it's better if you faced your fears."

"When did you get to be so sage-like?" I asked getting up to give him a hug.

"It's a natural gift. What can I say?" The snarky remark made me smile.

"You remind me so much of your dad sometimes."

"That's a good thing, right?" he said with a smirk.

"Yes. Definitely a good thing. Do you want me to bag up some leftovers for you before you go?"

"What leftovers?" he laughed.

"You can have what's left of the cake," I offered. We both glanced in the box. One small sliver remained.

"That's ok, Mom. Keep it in case there's an emergency."

"If there's a dessert emergency, I'm calling your Gram. That's all there is to it."

"Good point," he smiled. He gave me another hug before I walked him to the door. "Same time next week?" he asked.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." He left, and suddenly I was all alone again. Just me, myself, and some very puzzling thoughts. They kept me up most of the night. Lula called me early the next morning.

"Ranger's staying at that fancy place just outside of town," she said. "Bad news though. He's only checked in for the one night." I frowned. Apparently he wasn't interested in hanging around. It wasn't a very good sign. "Have you tried calling him yet?"

"Not exactly," I sighed.

"Well I don't think he's going to bug you unless you specifically tell him the bugging's ok."

"You're right. I'll figure something out."

"The clock's ticking Steph. I think he's supposed to get in sometime this afternoon." Great.

I hung up with Lula and started pacing the hallway. The mature thing would be to call him on the phone, set up a meeting time and place, and show up. But something about this whole ordeal made me feel young and stupid again. Part of me really wanted to just show up in his hotel room kind of like how he used to randomly appear in my apartment. It was like returning the favor…sort of.

He could appreciate something like that, right? It might even make him laugh. I wondered if his laugh had changed. Then I started thinking about an aged Ranger. He'd have to look different, right? I mean no one could look _that_ good at our age. Suddenly I was having second thoughts about seeing him.

I pulled a handful of outfits out of my closet and started haphazardly trying things on. Everything looked too frumpy or too tight or just plain blah. It was a disaster! Even if I had a year to prepare for this meeting, I still probably wouldn't be ready. However, if I had had a year, I could have at least done something about these darn saddle bags… I frowned in the mirror then flopped on the bed.

Eventually I decided on a standard t-shirt and jeans. It was something familiar and seemed to dampen the trying-too-hard vibe. Plus, the jeans had a tummy-tuck panel that made me look a size smaller than I really was. I decided I could use all the help I could get.


	36. Chapter 36

There were about twenty different times between applying my makeup and actually arriving at the hotel when I seriously contemplated chickening out. Who would really know, right? Me. I would know. And I would kick myself every single day if I didn't go through with it. I still had some things bothering me about those last days together, and my opportunity to clear the air was standing right in front of me. I just had to be brave enough to take advantage of it.

Lula texted me as I sat out in the hotel parking lot. "Staking out Rangeman. Pretty sure Bat just returned to cave."

"How sure is sure?" I texted back.

"Know anyone else who drives a pristine black Porsche?"

"Point taken. Wish me luck."

"Good luck."

Of course Lula thought I was a complete idiot when I filled her in on my plan, but like a good friend, she was still supportive and even agreed to watch for Ranger's arrival at Rangeman. I probably owed her a lifetime's supply of donuts for this one.

After about nine hundred deep breaths, I finally got out of my car…and promptly threw up in the bushes. My stomach was doing flip-flops like crazy. It was probably a bad sign, but I couldn't turn back now.

I made my way into the hotel lobby and smiled to myself. I'd had an unplanned stroke of good fortune. The girl working the front desk was a former friend of Marco's. I was just assuming I'd have to swipe the master key card from one of the cleaning crew, but this worked out much better. I hoped.

"Hi, Tina," I said a little overenthusiastically. She stared at me for a minute trying to place my face. Then I saw it click.

"Hey, Mrs. Morelli." I hated it when people called me that. Mrs. Morelli was Joe's mom. I was Stephanie Morelli. Or maybe just Stephanie.

"Stephanie's fine," I smiled.

"What brings you here?" she asked sweetly. "Do you need a room?"

"Actually I have a friend staying here. It's his birthday and I kind of wanted to leave his present in his room to surprise him. Would you mind if I got a key real quick?" She gave me a frown.

"Well, I would," she started. "But that goes against policy." She leaned over the desk and whispered, "I could lose my job if someone found out." Time to play hardball, huh?

"Oh, ok. Thanks anyway." I turned to leave. "Oh, I almost forgot, Marco said to tell you he says 'hi' if I happened to bump into you. Don't tell him I told you, but I think he kind of had a thing for you back in the day."

Tina's face lit up. "Yeah?"

"He was always telling me what a nice girl you were." Marco was probably going to kill me later, but I could tell my strategy was working. Tina was obviously weighing her next move.

"Ok, you win," she sighed. "Marco's number in exchange for the room key." Could I work a girl's desperation or what? Ok, it was despicable, and the even more despicable part was that I was planning on giving her the old bail bonds office number. And it had been out of business for a few years. "What's your friend's name?" she asked innocently. I started to feel a little guilty, but I wrote the phone number and Ranger's name on a piece of paper anyway. She handed over the room key. Mission accomplished.

I made my way up to the fourth floor and started to hyperventilate as I walked down the hallway. So much for staying calm, cool, and collected. I put the key card in the door and for a moment debated whether or not I should enter. Lula could have gotten the Ranger sighting all wrong, and for all I knew, he could still be in the room. That wouldn't be awkward at all…

Who was I kidding? The whole plan was awkward! What was I even thinking? I wasn't. Or maybe I was _overthinking_ all of this. I should have just called.

"Is your key card not working?" a staff member asked suddenly standing next to me. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Oh, sorry. No. Everything's fine." I put the key card in the door and turned the handle. There was no turning back now.

I was a little shocked when I entered the room. It was about as standard as they came: TV, bed, mini fridge. There was a dress shirt hanging in the closet, but that was about it. I guess if you're only planning on staying one night, you probably don't need to pack a lot.

I sniffed the shirt. It had the faint smell of Bulgari. "Some things never change," I thought. At least now I was pretty confident I had the right room. I grabbed the channel guide and flipped on the TV.

After two sitcom reruns, I was starting to feel all antsy again…and a little hungry. I opened the mini fridge, and sighed in dismay. A lonely water bottle stared back at me. My stomach grumbled its disappointment. Fortunately there was a room service menu strategically placed on the TV console. Ranger probably wouldn't mind if I charged it to the room, right?

I polished off a burger and fries with only marginal stomach cramps of guilt. In retrospect, I should have packed some snacks or something. But considering this whole thing was probably about to blow up in my face anyway, I decided it really didn't matter.

I fidgeted a little more on the bed before I made the horrible realization that I should have ordered a cup of coffee with my meal. I was starting to feel sleepy. Really sleepy. I tried fighting it as best I could, but before I knew it I was out like a light.

The next morning I woke up in a darkened room and a strange bed. I glanced around taking in my surroundings. From the looks of things I was in…a hotel? Eventually things started coming together in my mind, and my heart nearly leapt into my throat when I realized there was someone in the bed next to me. Slowly I turned over and bit my finger to stifle my squeal of surprise. Sure enough, it was Ranger.

I took a moment to take in the man sleeping next to me. In the darkness he almost appeared to be an exact clone of the Ranger I knew from thirty years ago. His hair was still dark, maybe a little shorter; there could have been _some_ grey, but it was hard to tell without the lights on. I was pretty sure there weren't many wrinkles on his deliciously dark skin. Leave it to Ranger to pull off all this aging business with that much finesse. Of course there was no way I was going to sneak a peek at the rest or him. In fact, if anything I was going to sneak myself out of the room as fast as I could.

Very, very slowly I eased myself out of the bed. Every creak and groan made me flinch, but the form next to me seemed undisturbed. I slowly tiptoed across the carpet and was just about to open the door when a familiar voice caught me off guard.

"Hold it, babe," Ranger said. I turned around slowly. "Care to explain any of this?" He flipped on a light.

"Funny," I answered. "I was just about to ask you the same thing?"

"Yeah?" he said with a smirk. "From the looks of it, you weren't going to ask me anything. In fact, I'd say you were trying to make a sneaky escape."

He pulled himself up so he was leaning against the backboard of the bed and crossed his arms over his chest. Of course he was shirtless. And naturally I was staring. People really shouldn't be allowed to look that good at our age.

"I wasn't _escaping_. I was trying not to be rude. You were sleeping. Or so I thought," I muttered.

"I see."

"Yeah, and what's the deal with the whole 'bed sharing' stuff? Why didn't you just kick me out last night?"

"Well, for starters I was a little thrown off by the fact that a strange woman was sleeping in my bed. And I _did_ try to wake you. You sleep like the dead."

"So you thought you'd just crawl in next to me?"

"What was I supposed to do? You were sleeping in _my_ bed, Goldilocks." He got a twitch of a smile, and all of the sudden I had an uncontrollable urge to laugh. I bit my lip and snorted.

"I'm sorry," I howled, doubling over. "It's not even that funny. But oh my gosh, it totally is!" I crumpled onto the floor and laughed until I could hardly breathe. I secretly wondered if I'd finally had a mental breakdown.

When I started to see more clearly through the tears in my eyes, Ranger was standing over me.

"Should I be worried?" he asked. I started to sit up.

"No, sorry. I think I'm ok now. I was just so worried this was going to be a complete disaster…and it totally was!" I started laughing again. "I really should have just called," I said wiping the tears from my eyes.

"So," he started.

"So what?" I asked still trying to regain some composure.

"Why _are_ you here?" he asked. "I mean not just in my hotel room, but why did you want to see me in the first place?"

"Because."

"That's all I get?" he raised an eyebrow. "Because?"

"Because I heard you were going to be in town and I felt like maybe I wanted to see you. To catch up a little." He just stared at me. "Could you _please_ put a shirt on? I'm feeling a little…distracted." I saw him smirk as he grabbed the dress shirt out of the closet. He pulled it on, but only did the bottom three buttons. Much better. Now he looked like a freaking Calvin Klein underwear model. Well, at least for the fifty-and-above population. Good grief!

"So you wanted to catch up. Catch up about what?"

"There's about thirty years of life to choose from. Take your pick." He went and sat on the bed.

"I don't think it's quite that simple, babe. Tell me the real reason why you're here." His eyes focused so intently on me that I almost felt him reading my thoughts.

"Fine," I sighed. "I'm here because…"

I needed a good reason, but everything that came to mind seemed too weird or dumb. I knew a silly part of it was curiosity. Ranger had been one of the most attractive people I'd ever known. I wanted to know if time was cruel even to those who were dealt a better hand in the looks department. Of course I'd already gotten my answer to that one.

Another reason that I knew I couldn't bring myself to say aloud was to see if anything still lingered from our complicated past. I'd forced myself to close that door a long time ago, locking it with a key and cleverly burying its entrance behind layers of new memories. But I always knew that room was still there. Time had cleverly faded so much behind that door, mostly without me even knowing it. But the memories refused to disappear altogether, which must have meant _something._

Maybe the real reason I wanted to see him was much simpler than any of that though. Something had been gnawing away at me for years, and I could almost pinpoint the beginning of it to those last few days we'd spent together. It had to do with those uncharacteristic looks he'd had. Somehow I'd managed to hurt the man beneath all those layers of physical and emotional armor. And I'd never even tried to say sorry.

"I'm here," I started again. "Because I think I owe you a long overdue apology."

Ranger shook his head. "Babe, you don't owe me anything."

"I do though," I protested. "Even if you won't ever admit it, I'm pretty sure I hurt you, and I never meant to do that. I was confused and scared, and for the longest time I used you as some weird safety net. You advertised as the 'no strings attached' guy, but I'm pretty sure we had been building a complicated web of strings since that first time we met. I should have recognized that long before I did and had the discussion with you that I always tried to avoid."

"I didn't make those discussions very easy," he said with a small smile.

"No, you didn't." I shifted uncomfortably. "So, now it's been said. I'm sorry about thirty years ago. And I'm really sorry I never called to see how you were doing."

"I'm glad you didn't. It was hard enough getting over you without the calls."

Getting over me. The words hung in the air like the gathering rain just before a storm. They stung as they confirmed the real damage I'd caused. But they also gave me a strange familiar flutter.

"How long did it take?" I asked quietly, avoiding any eye contact.

"I'm not really sure."

I glanced up trying to make out the expression that accompanied the response, but it was typical enigmatic Ranger. He glanced over at the clock on the night stand.

"My flight leaves in a few hours," he said.

"Oh," I responded. "I guess I should probably get going then." I paused at the door. "It was good to see you. Think you'll be back any time soon?"

"With the Rangeman business all wrapped up here, I hadn't really been planning on it."

I felt the prickle of tears in my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away. What had I expected to happen here? We'd seen each other and I'd gotten the apology off my chest. There wasn't anything left beyond that really.

"Have a safe trip home," I offered. I was worried it sounded as half-hearted as it felt.

"Thanks. And Stephanie," he added. "It was good to see you too."

Before I knew it, I was standing back out in the hallway. I had just made an appearance and departure oddly similar to Ranger's from the past. The irony of the role reversal was not lost on me. In fact, I was worried it was about to land me in another round of hysterical laughter. I stifled some giggles as I made my way back out to the parking lot.

I called Lula on my drive back home.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"Good. I guess."

"You guess? What does _that_ mean?"

"It means I think I need some donuts. Want to join me?"

"Sure, girl. You know I can't say no to donuts."

"I'll be by in twenty," I said and ended the call.

I replayed the hotel rendezvous in my mind a few more times and finally decided it belonged in the locked room with all my other Ranger memories. I'd done what I'd set out to do, so now I could officially move on. Hopefully the same was true for Ranger.


	37. Chapter 37

The funny thing about Ranger is that you can always count on him to be full of surprises and predictably unpredictable. I'm not really sure what changed his mind about coming back, but he started routinely showing up in Trenton again. It was the top story in the Burg gossip mill for weeks. Mostly because someone had started outrageous rumors that he'd been in a cryogenic sleep for thirty years and was back now to seek revenge against his arch nemesis. It wasn't _completely_ impossible, I suppose, but the Ranger I'd seen back at the hotel didn't seem very interested in revenge. And there hadn't been a single sign of freezer burn.

He'd often call when he was in town, and most of the time we'd go and grab a cup of coffee somewhere. I'd jabber on about all my favorite moments from the last thirty years being careful not to linger too long on Morelli. Ranger would sit quietly and listen, sometimes smiling at crazy things I'd done, and sometimes even full-on laughing. I'd forgotten how easy it was to talk to Ranger.

Eventually he was showing up for dinners at my place, and although I absolutely dreaded the evening I decided it was time to introduce him to Marco, I was pleasantly surprised how everything turned out. Initially Marco had questioned him like a suspect in an interrogation room, but it wasn't long before the two of them were talking about sports and other guy-related topics.

I sat watching them throughout the evening wondering if they found all of it was as weird as I did. It was like an episode straight from _The Twilight Zone_. Time and space were colliding as two distinctly separate parts or my life came together over pizza and discussions of the previous hockey season. It was beyond bizarre.

Ranger stood in the doorway after Marco left. "It's uncanny," he said quietly.

"Marco?" I asked.

He nodded. "Seeing him made me feel like I'd stepped through some crazy time warp."

"Tell me about it."

Ranger got a small twitch of a smile. "Can't be entirely the cop's though. You can see it in the nose. Definitely yours." He came and started helping me clear the dishes. "Seems like a good kid, babe. I always knew you'd make a good mom."

I could feel my cheeks warm, so I busied myself with scrubbing the mostly-clean plates. "It's been one of the craziest, most difficult, and oddly rewarding jobs I've ever taken on. And considering my past employment, that's really saying something." We both looked at each other and laughed.

Once everything was put away, we went and sat on the couch. I watched the sky change colors above the rooftops of the neighborhood and wondered just how many sunsets I'd seen from this living room. I was so caught up in my thoughts and emotions that I almost didn't notice Ranger get up to leave.

"You don't have to go," I said following him to the door.

"It looked like you might need some time alone. I can come back tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's Sunday. Don't you have to fly back to Florida?"

"Damn. I forgot." We both stood contemplating this realization. "I'll be back in a few weeks. It won't be that long."

I decided not to push the issue. Maybe Ranger needed time alone to process everything too. There was a question I'd wanted to ask that had started festering in my mind recently, but I decided it could wait until the next time we got together.

"Have a safe trip," I said. "Give me a call when you're back in town."

Ranger smiled and leaned closer to me. His lips brushed my cheek, and I nearly jumped in surprise at the familiar warmth from his touch. It gave me an involuntary shiver.

"Until next time, babe," he smiled. I decided then that those next few weeks were going to drag on for an eternity.

Lula met me for lunch several days later. I debated telling her about Ranger's recent visits, but for the usual reasons, I decided to wait. I hadn't made the top story in the local gossip mill for several years, and I kind of wanted to keep it that way. Especially since I had yet to decipher what any of the visits actually meant.

"Hey girl!" Lula hollered over at me. Several years ago we'd started meeting routinely at a Cluck in a Bucket just for kicks. We'd sip our milkshakes and bump our gums about the tragedies of getting older. It was almost therapeutic in a way and may have even saved me from becoming sort of a recluse after Morelli was gone.

I took a seat across from her and pulled out a piece of chicken from the bucket.

"What's new?" she asked already polishing off her second piece. I was running later than usual, so I didn't mind that she had already started without me.

"Not much. You?"

"Doc says I got me some arthritis starting in my knee. Thinkin' about replacin' it with one of them robotic things. Think it'll live up to all the hype?"

"Probably better than not being able to walk, I guess," I answered. Getting older always seemed to be about losing things: your glasses, your car, your mobility, your mind. Hanging on to any one of those things was probably well worth it.

"Have you heard that people have been seeing more of Ranger around these parts lately?"

"No…" I said attempting to play dumb.

"Guess he's been seen at that fancy hotel a few more times. Rumor has it that there's an illegitimate child involved or something. Kind of crazy, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Lula, it's Ranger we're talking here. Does he really seem the type to have a child he didn't know about for thirty years?"

"I guess not. But you know, bizarro things have been known to happen around these parts." Lula eyed me for a moment. "If there was anyone I thought could be capable of having Ranger's child without him knowing, it would've been you."

My eyes grew big and I choked on a swallow of milkshake. I sputtered and wheezed until Lula came over and whapped me hard on the back.

"Thanks for that," I said hoarsely.

"Didn't mean to make you almost swallow your tongue. But seriously, Marco's not Ranger's, right?"

"No!" My eyes narrowed. "Does he _look_ like Ranger's?"

"He _looks_ like a Morelli. But I've seen them tabloids about those white mommas havin' brown babies and vice versa. And you two always had weird stuff goin' on. I was kinda waitin' for the day when you just disappeared, gettin' whisked off to the Bat Cave or somethin'."

Funny. I'd had the same fantasy myself a few times. I kind of wanted to clear up the illegitimate child rumor, but it wasn't really hurting anyone, and it would probably be pointless considering something else would eventually pop up in its place. Maybe something even worse. I decided to change the subject instead.

"I think Marco's got a new girlfriend," I said.

"Aw!" Lula gushed. "When does Auntie Lula get to meet her?" If Marco had any say in the matter, the answer would probably be never. Lula had been known to chase off a number of Marco's previous love interests. Not on purpose, mind you. She was just a little bit…well, up front and personal. And kind of over the top. And Lula.

"I think I'll give him some privacy on this one," I added. "He doesn't need you or me meddling in that stuff. At least not right away."

"Well _you're_ no fun," she frowned. "It's not like I'm _that_ bad."

I gave her a look.

"Ok, I promise not to meddle. At least for a week or two. Then all bets are off." I know it was probably horrible of me, but I was secretly relieved that if Lula was meddling with Marco, she probably wouldn't be as interested in meddling with me. Ranger and I would be off her radar for a little while.

My phone rang as I emptied our trays in the trash. Speaking of Ranger…

"Aren't you gonna get that?" Lula asked.

"Probably just my eye doctor telling me my new glasses are in. I'll swing by the pharmacy and pick them up on my way home."

"Same time next week?" Lula asked after polishing off her shake.

"Sounds good. I'll call if I have to reschedule." I tried not to walk too quickly to my car, but I was starting to feel really worked up and antsy. Ranger wasn't supposed to be back for a couple more weeks. Naturally, I was worried something bad had happened.

I hit the callback button and waited anxiously until the line picked up.

"You're not dying somewhere, are you?" I blurted.

"Hi to you too," he answered. "Last time I checked I wasn't dying, but several of your neighbors make me nervous with their driving capabilities."

"My neighbors? Where are you?"

"Your place."

"I thought you wouldn't be back for another couple of weeks."

"Change of plans."

"And you didn't bother calling earlier because…?"

"I wanted to surprise you. But then I panicked when one of your neighbors said you were going out of town for the week."

"Little old lady with tight gray curls and ruby red lips?"

"That'd be the one."

"She tells everyone that about everybody. Think her mind's stuck on repeat or something."

"So you'll still be in town?"

"Give me a few minutes, and I'll even be at my house in town."

"Perfect. I'll be waiting."


	38. Chapter 38

I'm not sure why, but my palms started to sweat on the drive home. And my heart felt a little fluttery. And my breathing was starting to become a little erratic. I was too old to be feeling like this, wasn't I? It's not like there had been anything going on between us anyway. We'd gone out for coffee a few times and he'd been over for a few dinners. That was stuff I did with girlfriends. Hardly anything to get worked up over.

It obviously had to do with the kiss on the cheek. Ranger was still capable of something magical even after all these years. And for once, I couldn't think of a single reason to push him away. Of course, I was getting ahead of myself. Ranger from the past had always had an anti-commitment campaign that seemed pretty set in stone. There was no reason to believe that campaign had changed. Hardly any evidence even to suggest he wanted to be anything more than friends.

After a while, I decided I could live with just being friends. All I really knew is that I wanted him back in my life, and I was willing to take us in whatever form was necessary to ensure he didn't leave again.

Ranger was leaning up against his car in the driveway when I pulled in. His arms were crossed over his chest in a stance I'd seen a million times before. I debated giving him a lecture on being so visible in a neighborhood full of gossips, but I was too excited to see him to really care.

I stepped out of my car and subtly wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. "It's nice to see you back so soon," I said.

He opened his car door and pulled out some flowers.

"They're beautiful," I smiled. "But you know, I'll probably forget to put them in water. They might be crunchy and shriveled by tomorrow."

"Well maybe I'll have to stick around to make sure that doesn't happen."

I stared at him trying to decipher the comment. It sure didn't sound "just-friendish" to me. But then again, I think Ranger always enjoyed getting me flustered. Could have been some old Ranger humor coming through.

"I guess we'd better get the flowers in a vase," I said heading towards my front door.

"Guess so."

I headed for the kitchen and pulled a vase from one of the cupboards. Ranger pulled out a pocket knife and cut away the plastic wrapper and the rubber bands holding everything together. I grabbed the kitchen shears and trimmed up the stems before arranging the flowers.

"Can I ask you something?" I inquired while shuffling the flowers around.

"Sure." I wanted to turn around and steal a glance at his face, but I was worried in doing so, I'd lose my nerve.

"Why did you start coming back to Trenton?"

There were a few terribly long moments of silence before he answered. "I would've thought that was obvious."

"I've been known to miss the obvious on occasion. You may have to spell it out for me." My hands started trembling a little. I was slightly terrified of the answer. And maybe a little excited? Mostly terrified.

"I missed seeing people here. It had been so long since I'd been back; I wasn't sure if there was anything left here for me. Turns out I was wrong."

"Oh. Ok." Not exactly the answer I'd been expecting. Why on earth did he always have to be so damn ambiguous? All I knew is that it was as frustrating now as it had been thirty years ago. Maybe even more so. And life experience had shown me the hard way that time is too precious just to beat around the stupid proverbial bush. So what did I do? Well, I'll tell you what I did. I stopped beating around the bush and grabbed the bull by the horns, or rather Ranger by the shirt, and kissed the guy.

He pulled back briefly and looked at me. Oh gosh! Maybe I'd done the wrong thing. Maybe the kiss had been a mistake. Then the corners of his mouth turned into a slight smile. He leaned in closer, then stopped.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Can I take a moment to tell you something?"

I frowned. "Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?"

"No."

"I'm not really in the mood to talk right now if you hadn't noticed." Old thoughts were running dangerously through my mind, and I was slightly worried that any moment some long-buried hormones were going to take over resulting in me dragging him up to the bedroom like a lioness with her captured gazelle.

"Please."

It was the look that did it. Any time he had that look, I knew he was serious.

"Ok. What do you need to tell me?"

"Actually could we go sit? It's something I think I better show you."

We walked over to the living room couch and sat down.

"Does this have anything to do with an arch nemesis or an illegitimate child?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "What? No. Where did you get a crazy idea like that?"

"Just some rumors circulating. Wanted to make sure they didn't have any merit."

He shook his head. "Here, give me your hand." He reached for me, but I almost instinctively pulled back.

"Why?"

"I want to show you something." I gave him a look but decided to trust him anyway. I gave him back my hand. "You're going to give me another look, but you need to close your eyes too."

"Ok, you're officially weirding me out now…"

"Please, just do it. Just for a moment."

I closed my eyes and felt that oddly familiar warmth from his hand holding mine. But this time it was different. This time the warmth was heavier and seemed full of something I couldn't put my finger on. Before I had a chance to give it more of an assessment, something blurry started taking form in my mind. Parts of a picture started appearing, some faster than others. It started with the eyes followed soon after by the lips and the hair. Soon the whole face came into focus and I noticed it was a woman in a hospital bed. Not just any woman. The picture of the woman in my mind was me.

Faint whispers started echoing in my mind. I changed my focus from the image to the sounds to try and make out what they were saying. _"I'm letting her go,"_ they said. _"It's for the best. It's for the best. It's for the best…"_ That last thought seemed to be stuck on repeat.

"Holy hell," I sputtered pulling my hand away. "What was _that?"_

"Something I wish I'd told you about a long time ago," Ranger said with a subtle frown.

"That was me. That was me thirty years ago. And the whispers… Were those your…?" My mind was reeling. I felt like I'd just walked in on someone naked. It was like I'd been _inside_ Ranger's head. The memory must have been from that last time we saw each other. Tears started forming in my eyes.

"Are you ok?"

"No, I'm not ok! What does all of _that_ have to do with anything? How long have you known that you can show people your memories? That's really…weird."

"I guess this means you probably won't let me show you anything else."

"Like what?"

"Want to find out?"

"Well, I guess at this point it's not going to hurt anything. Go for it, Merlin."

Ranger's mouth twitched a little as he held my hands again. I closed my eyes waiting to see what weird things were about to materialize in my mind. This time everything was much hazier. Lines were undefined, and it looked more shadowy than anything. After some concentrated focusing, I started making out a subtle image. It was another woman. She had the unmistakable eyes from the previous memory, but she was much older and holding something in her arms. Her hand reached for a smaller hand in the bundle and she held it up to her face and kissed it. It reminded me of something I sometimes did with Marco when he was a baby.

I let go. "That woman was still me, but that couldn't have been Marco. I look too old."

"It's not Marco."

"Then whose baby was it?"

"Marco's."

"You're telling me my son has a child that I don't know about? I'm going to kill that kid!"

"He doesn't have one…yet."

"I'm sorry, are you telling me that's a vision from my _future_?"

"Are you going to completely lose it if I say yes?"

"Probably."

Ranger just sat there quietly. After what felt like an eternity of silence, I decided I could more or less deal with the soothsayer business. Heck, Shakespeare wrote about that stuff, right? It couldn't be _that_ weird.

"Ok. You can see glimpses of the future. That's a pretty cool trick. Probably saves you time in traffic, right?"

Ranger shook his head. "Maybe a few times, but it doesn't really work like that. The future stuff is always hazy and hard to see clearly."

"And you decided now was a good time to show me all of this because…"

"I thought you deserved to know."

"To know what?"

"That I couldn't be with you because I'd seen glimpses of your future."

"So, what, I didn't get a say in the matter?"

"You and the cop were always supposed to be together. It was obvious from that first time I met you."

I furrowed my brow, and felt a pained expression start to form on my face. "Then _why_? Why the seductive looks? Why the passionate kisses? Why the games all the time?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "I _never_ meant to hurt you with all of that. You just fought so hard against it at first that it made me wonder if fate had a loophole somewhere. Some small space in the fabric of time where you and I could actually be together."

I gasped, sucking in a raggedy breath. "I thought… You always said you weren't interested in anything like that. What do you mean about us being together?"

"I thought if I told you I wouldn't do the marriage thing again, you'd eventually give up on a future with me. But of course, you've never been one to give up on anything." I blushed. "I underestimated you with the bounty hunting, and I underestimated you in terms of our relationship. It made everything so incredibly painful. I almost couldn't stand it there at the end."

I thought back to the odd expressions he'd had. It was true that I had been the cause of his pain back then, but not in the way I'd thought.

"Why didn't you just leave sooner?"

"I'm selfish. I've always enjoyed being around you. And I was meant to be in your life too. Just not in the way either of us wanted. I knew once I found that pregnancy test on the bathroom floor that things would be ending for us. I'll admit the Vitaly situation kind of caught me off guard, but I may have drug out the process of finding him a little so I could spend some extra time with you. You were such a significant part of my life at that point, I could hardly bear the thought of having it all come to an end."

"You know, you could have stuck around."

He looked down and shook his head. "I wasn't ever in any of the visions of your future. Until…"

"Until what?"

"Until that night you showed up in my hotel room. Suddenly I had a clear vision of us sitting and talking over coffee. I'd never seen anything with present day us together before. It's why I started coming back here."

I sat in a dazed silence taking it all in. This was definitely _not_ the reason I had ever imagined Ranger using as an explanation for returning to Trenton.

This whole "special abilities" stuff still had me pretty weirded out, but I also felt like I just found out the cute boy in class that I'd spent countless hours daydreaming about had a crush on me. It was pretty intoxicating.

We spent more time discussing the visions. His ability to see the future explained so many things. Suddenly I understood why he was always putting tracking devices on me. He'd see scary things happen without always knowing the when, the where, and sometimes even the who. It also explained why he was often the first person to come to my rescue.

I watched him as he clarified things as best he could. It was like a weight was slowly being lifted from him. I felt bad that he thought he needed to wait so long to tell me all of this. Sure, I probably would have still freaked out a little, but at least he wouldn't have had to bear the burden alone.

I asked him to share some more of his memories. It was amazing how vivid some of them were. Sometimes I'd laugh at something crazy I'd done, but mostly I found myself fighting back tears. The admiration and deep affection he'd had for me were evident in every single memory he shared. I felt a little stupid that I'd never recognized it for what it truly was.

It was starting to get late, but I didn't want him to leave. "What else have you seen of the modern day us?" I asked curiously.

"Not much. As I've gotten older, the future-seeing stuff hasn't been as strong. I can kind of look for things sometimes, but I mostly have to know what I'm looking for."

"See anything involving a bedroom?" I asked mischievously.

He raised an eyebrow above eyes growing dark in a deliciously seductive stare. "Can't say that I have," he smirked.

"Hmmm… Well, let me see if I can share a vision _I_ have of the two of us." I leaned over and kissed him. He pulled me into his arms then suddenly picked me up off the couch. As we made our way to the bedroom, I thought for a brief moment that life probably didn't get much better than this.


	39. Chapter 39

_Epilogue_

 _The man sitting across from me in the living room is not who I would've expected. He's not even the man fate had intended for me. Or maybe in some crazy way, he is. Fate's a little weird like that sometimes._

 _He's the man who continuously cared for me from a distance and loved me enough to push me away and eventually even let me go. He's the man who carried around a ring in his pocket for thirty years from a trip to Hawaii that didn't end so well. And he's the man who proposed to me with that very ring over a candle-lit dinner in New York._

 _He's the man whose past still haunts him, but who occasionally smiles at a momentary glimpse of the future. He's the man who protected me from so many unseen dangers for so many years and who still feels a small sense of relief at watching me sleep beside him._

 _He's the man who barely knew his daughter but still somehow managed to salvage their relationship. A picture of the two of them at her wedding hangs on our wall. He's the man who surprisingly has more grandchildren than I do; naturally, they all think he's superman. I tell them they're probably not far off the mark._

 _He's the man who takes my son out to the bar every once in a while to talk sports and law enforcement. On darker days, he's the man who shares old memories to remind my son what a great man his dad was. And he's the man who reminds my son to keep fighting for what's good in the world even when it might seem pointless._

 _He's the man who lets me cry about the past, who drives me to the cemetery to leave flowers for the other man who still holds a very special place in my heart. He's the man who secretly paid some of the staggering hospital bills, so that I didn't lose my home. And he's the man who makes his own secret trips to the cemetery to promise I'll always be loved and taken care of._

 _I'm not sure if Henry Higgins was ever supposed to fall in love with Eliza Doolittle. Maybe they were always just supposed to be good friends. But friendship was never enough for Ricardo Carlos Manoso. He spent a lifetime waiting for a loophole that he probably thought would never even exist. Yet here he is, sitting across from me in our living room, wearing a small symbol of that impossible loophole on his finger._

 _Sometimes when we go on walks late at night, Ranger will subtly slip his hand in mine. He'll pick a random memory and show me something from the past. I have many favorites, but the one I love most is of a wild-haired thirty-year-old. Her expression as she sits in the booth is sassy and determined, the eyes are always brilliant and captivating. She's yammering on about needing money and finding a murder suspect, but through the talking I can almost always make out a subtle whisper in the background. "_ She's the one," _he thinks, eyes focused intently on her. "_ She's the one."


End file.
